Martial Cultivator

Chen Chao said indifferently, ”Hardly. This official has never placed him in my eyes. Even now that he is a great sword immortal, he is not worth this official taking a second look at.”

Chen Yi nodded repeatedly. ”Your Excellency’s divine might shakes the world. A mere Lu Chu is destined to be no match. In this lowly daoist’s view, it would be settled with a single punch.”

Chen Chao was extremely pleased and nodded. ”Exactly so.”

As he spoke, Chen Chao glanced at the silent He Liang and shook his head inwardly. This was the result of bringing this foolish kid along. If it had been Yu Qingfeng instead, he would certainly have produced many clever remarks by now.

But bringing Yu Qingfeng would only have been so-so as well. The truly suitable one was probably that lad Weng Quan.

Xu Qiu did not want to listen to Chen Yi spout this nonsense, so she asked, ”Your Excellency, is this trip meant to wipe out Purple Leaf Grotto?”

Chen Chao frowned. ”No, Fellow Daoist Xu. You cannot listen to idle rumors from outside. When has this official ever been the sort to casually wipe out another’s dao lineage? Little He, you are your master’s good disciple. At a moment like this, should you not clear your master’s name?”

He Liang was taken aback. He then raised his head, opened his mouth, and only after a long pause managed to squeeze out a sentence. ”My master is not that kind of person... right?”

Chen Chao was speechless. What kind of foolish kid was this?

......

......

Mt. Tai Xuan’s Purple Leaf Grotto: at its highest point stood Purple Leaf Peak. Because the entire peak was covered in purple-leaf trees, it was given that name.

This had always been the Grotto Lord’s seclusion ground. Without formal notice, outsiders found it nearly impossible to set foot there. In recent years, however, an exception had been made.

That young sword immortal, Lu Chu, had been permitted to cultivate on Purple Leaf Peak.

Lu Chu had long been the foremost figure of his generation within Purple Leaf Grotto. He was a sword cultivator, and his talent was by no means lacking. In his early years, he had been placed under great expectations and had even been granted a rare sword repository by the Grotto Lord, Daoist Redsky. But later, due to an unforeseen incident, Lu Chu’s sword repository was destroyed, cutting off his original path of cultivation, and he quickly became a discarded piece.

By all logic, Lu Chu’s later days in Purple Leaf Grotto should have been miserable, and that was indeed the case. A cultivator fated never to become a sword immortal naturally found life hard thereafter. Yet during those grueling years, Lu Chu never gave up. Several years later, at a time when everyone believed it impossible for him ever to step into the Nepenthe Realm again, he did just that, entering Nepenthe and becoming one of the ten in Xinliu Prefecture.

In the most recent list of the Ten Sword Cultivators, Lu Chu was not included. However, outside the top ten, he and two others were acclaimed as the sword cultivators most likely to be selected when the rankings were updated next time.

After this Sword Immortal Lu, who had broken and then re-established himself, became a sword immortal, Purple Leaf Grotto’s attitude toward him naturally reversed. Not only was he permitted to cultivate on Purple Leaf Peak, but countless heavenly treasures and earthly rarities were poured into him.

He did not disappoint Purple Leaf Grotto. His realm had continued to advance at a startling pace in these past years, leading everyone in Purple Leaf Grotto to believe that producing a great sword immortal was now merely a matter of time.

At this moment, before a cold pool on Purple Leaf Peak, Lu Chu sat cross-legged. Sword qi flowed slowly around his body, enveloping him within, looking profoundly mysterious.

Footsteps suddenly sounded not far away.

Lu Chu’s ear twitched, and he opened his eyes.

”Grotto Lord.”

The visitor was naturally the Grotto Lord of Purple Leaf Grotto, Daoist Redsky, who had already stepped into the very end of the Nepenthe realm - a great daoist sage.

Daoist Redsky glanced at Lu Chu and smiled. ”Your progress is not bad. It seems that it will not be long before you step into the realm of a great sword immortal.”

Lu Chu nodded. ”After this disciple steps into the great sword immortal realm, I intend to test my sword against Yu Xiyi, so that the world may know, among the younger generation of sword cultivators today, who truly stands first.”

Daoist Redsky asked with a smile, ”Not going to seek out that martial artist?”

Lu Chu answered candidly, ”In this disciple’s view, that Chen Chao stands above Yu Xiyi. This disciple must first defeat Yu Xiyi, then ride that momentum to test my sword against Chen Chao. Only then will there be a chance of victory.”

Daoist Redsky nodded. ”Indeed. That young martial artist is far too rare. To call him the number one martial artist under heaven today would not be an exaggeration. If you fight him again, your chances of victory are slim.”

Lu Chu said calmly, ”Back then in the Divine Capital, this disciple already said that the Great Dao is long. No one knows who will have the last laugh.”

”Truth be told, I am genuinely surprised. I never imagined that after your sword repository shattered, you could still walk to this point. If that sword repository were still intact, you would probably already have entered the realm of the great sword immortal by now.”

Daoist Redsky sighed, seeming somewhat regretful.

Lu Chu shook his head and said, “That sword repository may have been of great benefit to this disciple, but once it was gone, it was gone. This disciple can still step into that realm.”

Daoist Redsky smiled and said, “With such a mindset, who under heaven could still be your match?”

“Alright, I will stop beating around the bush. There is something I can now tell you. In fact, apart from that sword repository, there was also a sword scripture back then. I originally did not wish to give it to you, because the techniques within were truly overbearing. I feared you would be unable to control your own heart, coveting short-term elevation and damaging your dao heart. But now, this is no longer an issue. Knowing that your sword heart is firm, even if you cultivate it, you will not use it lightly. For now, it can be counted as a means to preserve your life.”

Daoist Redsky took out a jade slip, which floated in front of Lu Chu.

Daoist Redsky said calmly, “You may cultivate this sword scripture, but do not use it lightly.”

After saying this, Daoist Redsky turned around and left without saying anything more.

Lu Chu picked up the jade slip and examined it with his divine sense. He then frowned. It turned out to be a method that burned one’s heart’s blood to power the technique, allowing one to greatly raise one’s cultivation in an extremely short period of time.

Lu Chu shook his head and said indifferently, “If the Great Dao is severed in this way, how could it be used?”

......

......

Daoist Redsky left that cold pool and came alone to the summit of Purple Leaf Peak, his hands clasped behind his back, sitting cross-legged beneath an ancient pine.

Before him was a sheer cliff. White clouds swirled before the precipice, as though Daoist Redsky were seated amid a sea of clouds.

A jade slip streaked through the air and finally fell into the hand of the Purple Leaf Grotto Lord.

Daoist Redsky reached out to take it, glanced at it, and merely sneered. “As long as you dare come alone, that will be your day of death.”

Ever since Mountains and Rivers Sect and Great Liang became connected by marriage, Daoist Redsky had been closely watching the movements of Mountains and Rivers Sect, because between the two sects, there truly was a grudge that could not be erased.

Since Mountains and Rivers Sect had latched onto Great Liang, this matter would certainly be brought up by Mountains and Rivers Sect.

As for whether Chen Chao would come to Mt. Tai Xuan afterward, or whether Mountains and Rivers Sect would send people to demand the return of Genglou Mountain, Daoist Redsky actually leaned more toward the latter.

But they wanted it back just by asking?

That was impossible.

The mountain was taken by me. If you have the ability, then take it back.

Even if you have latched onto Great Liang.

Could that young martial artist really wipe out my Purple Leaf Grotto as well?

“A young man who does not know the immensity of heaven and earth, it’s time to pay the price.”

Daoist Redsky’s voice drifted within the sea of clouds, lingering for a long time without dispersing.