Chapter 136: Great Dao Pagoda Art
The Inner Palace was very quiet. Yun Che had entered the Inner Palace half a day ago, yet had not seen a single Inner Palace disciple. At this hour, most of them were cultivating within the Profound Gathering Tower.
Yun Che stood in the small courtyard, found a level spot, took a deep breath, and with a surge of profound energy, summoned the Overlord Giant Sword from the Heavenly Poison Pearl.
The Overlord Giant Sword landed in his hand. Its weight—nearly four thousand jin—caused Yun Che's upper body to lurch downward, almost slipping from his grasp even though he had braced himself. Clenching his teeth, he gripped the sword hilt with both hands, but he simply could not lift the entire greatsword. The lower half of the blade slammed heavily into the hard ground, sinking deep into it.
"Evil Soul!"
Evil Soul activated, his entire body brimming with profound energy. With a low growl, he seized the Overlord Giant Sword and lifted it entirely. But he only managed to hold it for a few breaths before the lower half of the blade crashed back into the ground with a heavy thud. If not for his gritted teeth, even the hilt would have slipped from his hands.
"Huff..." Recalling the Overlord Giant Sword, Yun Che let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and murmured to himself, "One day... I will definitely be able to wield you!"
"Why did you choose this heavy sword? Just because of its high grade?"
Mo Li's voice suddenly rang out in his mind, catching him off guard.
"Of course not." Yun Che shook his head and said seriously, "Before I entered the Heavenly Armory, I was also thinking of choosing a sword—a light sword, the kind most profound practitioners use. But as I approached this heavy sword, I suddenly had a strange feeling. I felt that it... suited me better."
"Why?" Mo Li asked. She rarely pressed for answers, but she seemed genuinely curious about why Yun Che had chosen this heavy sword.
"Because this is a sword of protection." Yun Che tilted his head back slightly and spoke slowly.
Mo Li: "..."
"Sikong Du was right. A heavy sword is a weapon unsuited for any profound practitioner—it belongs only on the battlefield. If I were a pure profound practitioner, I wouldn't have chosen this heavy sword either. But I am not."
"Once, I chased power just as obsessively—and I still do now. The reason I rashly challenged Murong Yi was to put enough pressure on myself. But my purpose and mindset in pursuing power are completely different from before. That's because I have experienced things that others could never experience in a lifetime."
That was death... and resurrection.
"The reason Tian Xuan Continent is named Tian Xuan Continent is because cultivating profound energy is the main theme of this continent, even the main theme of this world. The level of profound energy determines one's status and reputation in this world. Tian Xuan Continent has countless profound practitioners. Their entire lives are spent, for the most part, chasing higher profound power. Yet among them, the vast majority die without ever knowing the purpose of their pursuit... They simply chase, simply want to reach a higher peak."
"But I am different now. I clearly understand the purpose of my pursuit." Yun Che closed his eyes and spoke softly. "I want to protect everyone important to me. Once, I thought that as long as I had the heart, as long I treated them well and stayed by their side, I could give those close to me safety and happiness. But after losing them again and again, I finally realized that in this world where the strong prey on the weak and power reigns supreme, if I want to give them safety, I must make myself strong—so strong that everyone looks up to me, that no one dares to bully them. Only then can I truly protect them and never lose them again."
Mo Li: "..."
"Light swords suit profound practitioners. They are easy to master, easy to excel at—not only nimble but endlessly versatile. Throughout history, they have always been the most perfect weapon. But when it comes to protection, they can never match a heavy sword. A light sword swings to protect three, five people... but a heavy sword swings once, and a thousand armies dare not approach. As long as I shield those I need to protect behind me, unless someone blocks my heavy sword and steps over my corpse, they cannot harm them. Furthermore, I don't fully agree with Sikong Du's view on suitability for profound practitioners. No one chooses a heavy sword because mastering it is a thousand times harder than mastering a light sword, and the time required to become familiar with it is also a thousand times longer. But if one day I can swing a heavy sword as nimbly as a light sword..."
"Then in this world, what could withstand the might of a heavy sword?"
Yun Che spoke each word with conviction. The moment he first saw the Overlord Giant Sword, this was the image that appeared in his mind. Only he deeply understood how difficult this would be and how long it would take. In twenty years, a person using a light sword could become a sword master. Another person choosing a heavy sword might barely manage to control it freely after the same twenty years, and during that time, even their profound energy cultivation might be dragged down, making victories against opponents of the same level nearly impossible and earning scorn all along the way. Thus, few profound practitioners chose heavy swords—as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
And yet, Yun Che had done just that. Perhaps another important reason was that subconsciously, he did not want to make the same choice as the vast majority of profound practitioners.
After Yun Che finished speaking, Mo Li was silent for a long time. Just as he was about to try lifting the Overlord Giant Sword again, her voice drifted out faintly: "The reason you chose a heavy sword... is exactly the same as my brother's..."
Yun Che stopped moving and said in a low voice, "Your... brother? He also used a heavy sword?"
Mo Li's voice was filled with sorrow. Yun Che could almost picture her red-rimmed eyes at this moment, because the word "brother" was both the warmest softness and the most piercing ache in her heart. "At first, my brother also used a light sword. Later, he put down the light sword and picked up a heavy sword, because he said... a heavy sword is a sword of slaughter, a sword of domination, and even more a sword of protection. He wanted to protect me, our mother, and our home with a heavy sword..."
"To practice the heavy sword, my brother risked great danger by cultivating the forbidden book *Great Dao Pagoda Art*. Then, after countless hardships, he found the remains of Tianlangxing Shen and obtained the *Celestial Wolf Prison God Scripture*. Later, with immense perseverance, he mastered both the *Great Dao Pagoda Art* and the *Celestial Wolf Prison God Scripture* to their fullest extents. He wielded his heavy sword on the battlefield, and with one swing, ten thousand armies dared not approach."
"Back then, my favorite sight was watching my brother swing his heavy sword on the battlefield. He was the most handsome, the most imposing. It gave our mother and me an indescribable sense of safety and dependence. It felt like as long as my brother was there, even if the sky fell, there was no need to fear—because he would always protect us behind his heavy sword."
Mo Li's voice grew lower and lower, until at the end, it carried a clear tremor.
Because her brother had died in the end. From her description, Yun Che could tell that her brother had been an immensely powerful person—perhaps powerful to a level he could not even comprehend. Mo Li had never mentioned how her brother died, and Yun Che did not dare ask, because it must be the most painful scar in the depths of her heart.
"Putting down the light sword and taking up the heavy sword for the sake of protection—your brother must have been a great man." Yun Che sighed. "If I could, I would like to befriend him."
Mo Li was silent for a long time, as if calming her emotions. After a while, she spoke calmly, "You... really plan to keep using a heavy sword from now on?"
"Since I've chosen it, I will not change my mind or regret it." Yun Che replied without hesitation. "Moreover, I have the Evil God's Mysterious Vein. At the same level, I can unleash greater power, and wielding a heavy sword is relatively easier for me than for other profound practitioners."
"Good..." Mo Li responded. After a brief pause, she said flatly, "Then from today on, I will teach you to cultivate the 'Great Dao Pagoda Art'!"
"The Great Dao Pagoda Art? The one your brother practiced?" Yun Che was surprised.
"Correct. It is exactly the forbidden book my brother practiced to wield his heavy sword!" Mo Li said coldly. "It is called a 'forbidden book' because, like the *Evil God Art* on your body, it is a divine profound art of the ancient true gods! It comes from an ancient true god called the 'Desolate God.' The difference is that the *Evil God Art* resides in the profound veins and requires no cultivation, while the *Great Dao Pagoda Art* affects bloodlines, meridians, muscles, skin, hair... but has nothing to do with profound veins or even profound energy."
"A divine profound art... like the *Evil God Art*?" Yun Che was startled. The power of the *Evil God Art* went without saying—currently, he could only open the first realm gate, and yet at Xuan Entry Realm Level 10, he could easily severely injure Feng Yue, who was at True Xuan Realm Level 3. And the *Great Dao Pagoda Art* was also a divine profound art—its power must be no less than the *Evil God Art*!
"The ancient true gods have perished. The *Great Dao Pagoda Art*, though it survived for reasons unknown, became a forbidden existence. Because it is a divine profound art that humans simply cannot cultivate. Over countless years, the *Great Dao Pagoda Art* passed through many hands. Countless peerless experts, relying on their supreme profound cultivation, forcibly practiced the *Great Dao Pagoda Art*, but every single one died from qi deviation and exploding bodies. How can a mortal body bear the power of a god?"
Yun Che: "..."
"Until later, the *Great Dao Pagoda Art* vanished from the world, and the legends about it grew fainter. Then one day, my brother came across it by chance in a mysterious and dangerous place. That he had obtained the *Great Dao Pagoda Art* was a secret never known to anyone else. Only my brother and I knew in this world—not even our father and mother ever found out."
Mo Li was not lying. The *Great Dao Pagoda Art* was a secret shared only between her and her brother. After her brother passed away, the *Great Dao Pagoda Art* existed only in Mo Li's mind.
She had never thought of cultivating the *Great Dao Pagoda Art* herself, nor had she ever considered passing it on to anyone. She had not even planned to reveal it to others, letting the *Great Dao Pagoda Art* sink forever into the depths of her soul along with her longing for her brother.
But time and again, Yun Che had shown her traces of her brother... even giving her a faint sense of him. The first time was in the Flame Dragon Cave, when he had lost half his blood to save her... When she woke up in a daze, she thought she had seen her brother...
And when Yun Che chose the heavy sword and gave his reason for choosing it, her heart was struck as if by a heavy blow, trembling for a long time...
She knew why she was so eager to teach Yun Che this forbidden *Great Dao Pagoda Art*...
Because she wanted to see on Yun Che the image of her brother swinging his heavy sword back then—as if weaving a scene that only appeared in dreams.
"Since humans cannot cultivate the *Great Dao Pagoda Art*, and there are no more gods in this world, how did your brother succeed?" Yun Che interjected.
"Because he, like you, inherited the power of an ancient true god... that ancient true god was called 'Tianlangxing Shen.' His profound veins and bloodline bore the imprint of a true god, allowing him to bear the power of the *Great Dao Pagoda Art*. However, the *Great Dao Pagoda Art* has twelve levels in total. My brother could only reach the sixth level—that was his limit. If he pressed further, he would have suffered the same fate as those who tried before him—exploding to death."
"You bear the Evil God's Mysterious Vein. You will be just like my brother—capable of cultivating the *Great Dao Pagoda Art* to the sixth level! And right now, you only need to reach the first level of the *Great Dao Pagoda Art* to easily wield this heavy sword."
Every word Mo Li spoke surprised Yun Che more than the last. He swallowed his saliva and asked, somewhat incredulously, "You say... the first level of the *Great Dao Pagoda Art* will let me wield this Overlord Giant Sword? This isn't an ordinary heavy sword—it weighs a full three thousand nine hundred jin!"
What Mo Li said next nearly sent Yun Che to his knees on the spot.
"Hmph, of course I know the weight of this heavy sword." Mo Li said coldly. "But if you master the first level of the *Great Dao Pagoda Art*, without any increase in profound energy, you will gain three thousand jin of arm strength! The second level will add eight thousand jin of arm strength, and the third level will add twenty thousand jin... You only need the first level, and it will be enough! If you reach the second level, this heavy sword in your hands will be no different from a light sword in the hands of an ordinary profound practitioner."
"Moreover, even without drawing the heavy sword, with your added arm strength alone, even without activating 'Evil Soul,' no one of the same level will be your match. Paired with 'Evil Soul,' you will be sufficient to defeat opponents half a major realm above you!"