Chapter 2972: Leaving an Inscription
The next day, Zhang Ruochen brought Chi Kongle back to Liangyi Sect and entered Shangqing Palace again.
On the square, where the Heaven Sacrifice Bronze Cauldron had once stood, it remained dilapidated and ruined, crisscrossed with sword scars.
Gai Tianjiao stood upright beside the rubble, shaking her head. "Realm Lord Ruochen, I indeed overstepped my bounds before, forgetting the proper hierarchy between saints and gods. I hope you, as a man of great magnanimity, will overlook my minor offense and show leniency. There's no need to return the Heaven Sacrifice Bronze Cauldron; since my master has already spoken, would I dare to accept it?"
With that, she raised her sleeves and bowed deeply.
The Heaven Sacrifice Bronze Cauldron stood right beside the two of them.
Gai Tianjiao's distant attitude did not affect Zhang Ruochen's mood.
His gaze swept over the familiar surroundings and the ancient pines and strange cypresses whose branches reached in from beyond the eaves of the halls. "Senior Sister, you know full well that I, Zhang Ruochen, have always valued old bonds. So, are you retreating in order to advance? If you say such things again, I will take the Heaven Sacrifice Bronze Cauldron and leave now, never to set foot in Liangyi Sect again."
Gai Tianjiao did not rise, remaining in her bowing posture, her expression hidden from view.
Zhang Ruochen continued, "Even if you act tough, a woman is still a woman. When you dare to be angry but not speak, having emotions is normal. I understand."
Gai Tianjiao could no longer keep up the act. She straightened up and glanced toward Ancient God Mountain, clearly wary of Chi Yao. "Given your relationship with my master, calling me 'Senior Sister' only muddles the ties."
"Ties? We'll calculate each relationship separately."
Zhang Ruochen's expression was sincere, his eyes fixed on Gai Tianjiao's, showing no fear of Chi Yao overhearing their conversation. "Relying solely on power to oppress others is ultimately not the Great Path. Since ancient times, those who have used power to suppress have rarely met a good end. Even if they are invincible in life and no one dares to speak out, they rarely die well."
"You really dare to say that," Gai Tianjiao thought to herself.
These words truly struck a chord with Gai Tianjiao.
Chi Yao was her master and one of the few gods in the Kunlun Realm. How could she dare to defy her will?
Yet, she, Gai Tianjiao, was still the current Sect Leader of Liangyi Sect.
She truly did not know the mysteries of the Heaven Sacrifice Bronze Cauldron, nor even whether it could be considered a treasure. But if she allowed it to be taken away just because of Chi Yao's words, how could she have the face to continue as Sect Leader?
She had thought it through clearly last night and made a decision: to resign from her position as Sect Leader.
Zhang Ruochen's sincerity today and his fair words moved Gai Tianjiao deeply, sweeping away the entanglement and gloom of the previous night.
If before she had only envied Zhang Ruochen's cultivation talent and admired his open-mindedness in offering incense to Yuanfa Daozu, now she could truly believe without any reason that, no matter the circumstances, Zhang Ruochen could never be the "Eon-Level Great Villain" that people spoke of.
There was a gap between envy and admiration and unreserved trust.
But now, that gap had completely vanished.
Gai Tianjiao showed a rare smile. "I truly don't know the mysteries of the Heaven Sacrifice Bronze Cauldron. As Kongle said, rather than letting it gather dust in Liangyi Sect, it's better to give it to you, Junior Brother. After all, you are also a disciple of Liangyi Sect—you must acknowledge that!"
Zhang Ruochen understood. Chi Yao had already spoken, and Gai Tianjiao dared not accept the Heaven Sacrifice Bronze Cauldron no matter what.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Of course I acknowledge it!"
"Words are not enough; we need a written pledge," Gai Tianjiao said.
Zhang Ruochen was a bit bewildered. A written pledge was necessary?
Gai Tianjiao snapped her fingers. Before long, two disciples of Shangqing Palace carried over a boulder over ten zhang tall.
"Write it on this," Gai Tianjiao said.
Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly, fully understanding Gai Tianjiao's intention. "With my status, even if I wrote a pledge, would Senior Sister dare to display it?"
"You are now the Realm Lord of Xinghuantian. Even some gods of the Heavenly Court have to come to you to enter the Sundial for cultivation. My Liangyi Sect's mountain gate is open in the Kunlun Realm—why wouldn't I dare to display a stone?" Gai Tianjiao said.
"Very well, then I'll leave a few words."
Zhang Ruochen summoned the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
Gai Tianjiao reminded him, "This stone may be displayed in Liangyi Sect for who knows how long, perhaps even at the mountain gate. So, Junior Brother, please give it your all, so as not to lose face before future generations."
Zhang Ruochen unleashed a surging sword intent, swinging the sword swiftly—heavy in its rise, light in its fall.
Stone chips flew, scattering on the ground.
When he sheathed his sword, two lines of text appeared on the boulder:
"Reaching the Heavenly Saint Realm, the green mountains of Liangyi stand eternally beautiful."
"Attaining the Dao in one morning, the sky is high and the sea vast, with a name that lasts ten thousand generations."
The characters were imbued with powerful divine aura, extraordinary in charm—they were divine inscriptions.
Gai Tianjiao approached to examine them closely. Each divine character was like a mountain ridge horizontally, a great river vertically, every stroke like a fierce sword strike, hard to withstand.
"Excellent characters! But you haven't signed your name yet!" she said.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, sighed softly, and swung his sword again, carving his name onto it.
Gai Tianjiao treated it as a precious treasure. "Zhang Ruochen, oh Zhang Ruochen, no matter how formidable you become in the future, you are still a disciple of Liangyi Sect. With these two lines, it's like gaining a divine artifact to protect the sect."
In truth, after the Kunlun Realm Merit War, Zhang Ruochen's reputation in the Kunlun Realm was not bad. Although controversial, he also had countless admirers.
The prosperity of the Ming Sect in the Kunlun Realm was the best proof.
Not to mention the future, even now, with Zhang Ruochen's achievements of suppressing the Third Elder of Zhenmie Palace and defeating Ming Sword God, and with his status as Heavenly Mother's Divine Envoy and Realm Lord of Xinghuantian, leaving such two lines held extraordinary significance.
Countless proud talents would come to seek apprenticeship because of this.
But what Gai Tianjiao truly thought was that with this boulder, even if the Hell Realm conquered Kunlun in the future, placing it at the mountain gate of Liangyi Sect should be enough to suppress the demons and monsters of the Hell Realm.
A divine artifact to protect the sect was not just empty talk.
As Zhang Ruochen's achievements grew, the power of this sect-protecting divine artifact would only increase.
The two lines Zhang Ruochen left were, of course, not that simple.
He had not only infused his divine aura and sword intent but also integrated the power of the "One" character third-rank sword sacred intent and sword soul.
Of course, now the "One" character third-rank sword sacred intent was on the verge of transforming into the "One" character Sword Dao, only lacking the final accumulation and enlightenment.
Sacred intent was the embryo; esoterica was the soul.
The Dao was the ultimate destination of a god's cultivation.
Just as the Wuji Sacred Intent had transformed into the Wuji Divine Dao.
Condensing sacred intent was about choosing a direction, summarizing and concluding, and nurturing the Dao embryo. Every god walked their own path, which began when they condensed their sacred intent.
And the cultivation before condensing sacred intent was actually about comprehending this world, learning more, and ultimately finding the right direction to charge forward.
That was why, after the Hundred Shackles Realm, the Thousand Questions Realm allowed Great Saints to further solidify their beliefs. With their vision as the endpoint and the Divine Dao as the path, they realized their value in this world.
The "One" character Sword Dao was Zhang Ruochen's own Sword Dao.
Unfortunately, after becoming a god, Zhang Ruochen had not had much time to comprehend the sword, so his Sword Dao had never fully taken shape. It was still at the stage of sacred intent, sword techniques, sword intent, Sword Dao rules, sword soul, and sword spirit.
But in true Sword Dao, all of this had long been integrated and fused.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Senior Sister, do you know about the sword spirit?"
Gai Tianjiao was slightly moved. "It is one of the Eight Supreme Techniques of Sword Ancestor, but unfortunately, it has been lost. However, I heard that Junior Brother used the power of the sword spirit in the battle at Xinghuantian."
Zhang Ruochen did not hide it from her and nodded. "All Sword Daos under heaven originate from Sword Ancestor. But at that time, Sword Ancestor abandoned his courage and spirit, losing his will to fight, leaving only the heart to pass on the Dao. The Sword Dao passed down in this way actually lost the spirit of the sword."
"The sword soul is the soul of the Sword Dao."
"The sword spirit is the spirit of the Sword Dao."
"A sword without a sword spirit is like one hidden in its sheath, lacking sharpness and emotion. How can a sword without emotion be invincible under heaven?"
Zhang Ruochen pointed to the two lines on the boulder. "Sorrow, love, desire, anger, joy, hatred, and fear are the seven veins of the sword spirit. I have left the cultivation method of one of these veins in the characters. Cultivators with enough talent and insight should be able to comprehend it."
...
After Zhang Ruochen entered Shangqing Palace, Chi Kongle waited outside.
Zhang Hongchen, dressed in red, hid in the forest, secretly observing Chi Kongle.
Chi Kongle naturally noticed her and said coldly, "If this were the Hell Realm, any cultivator daring to spy on me would have been killed by my sword."
"What's there to be proud of? You still came back obediently to admit your mistake."
Zhang Hongchen thought to herself, walking out slowly, unafraid of Chi Kongle. "Are you Chi Kongle?"
Chi Kongle ignored her.
Zhang Hongchen took a few more steps closer. "Is Zhang Ruochen your father? Why don't you take the surname Zhang?"
Chi Kongle still ignored her.
Zhang Hongchen moved even closer, sizing her up, and found that she looked very much like Zhang Ruochen in the paintings. Feeling a bit displeased, she snorted lightly. "So proud. Is your cultivation very high? Can you beat that guy in the Central Imperial City?"
"Do you want to know?" Chi Kongle, annoyed, finally spoke.
Without waiting for Zhang Hongchen's answer, Chi Kongle pulled out a strand of hair from her head.
"Boom!"
From the hair, not only a vast amount of sacred qi surged forth, but also wisps of divine qi, condensing into a doppelganger.
The doppelganger looked exactly like Chi Kongle, flying out like a sword, fast as light, swift as lightning, crashing heavily into Zhang Hongchen.
Zhang Hongchen's expression changed drastically, and she immediately summoned nine swords to defend.
"Boom!"
The nine swords scattered chaotically, and Zhang Hongchen was sent flying a hundred zhang by the overwhelming force, narrowly avoiding the sword qi before crashing to the ground.
Chi Kongle said, "You couldn't even withstand one sword from a strand of my hair. Now do you know my cultivation level?"
Zhang Hongchen's face turned pale as she stood up. "Are you a god?"
"Not a god, but I have reached the peak of the demigod realm." This was not said by Chi Kongle but came from above Zhang Hongchen's head.
Zhang Hongchen had sensed earlier that an expert had intervened, helping to deflect part of Chi Kongle's power, allowing her to retreat unscathed. Now, looking up at the ancient pavilion behind her, she saw a mysterious strongman in a black cloak sitting atop it, his long robe fluttering, his aura powerful.
Zhang Hongchen asked, "And who are you?"
"Call me Uncle Black, and I'll give you a protective divine formation," the mysterious strongman said generously.
He could be so generous because he knew that what he gave now could be recouped from Zhang Ruochen later at double the value. To reap benefits, one needed a legitimate reason, solid grounds, and to make Zhang Ruochen clearly understand how much he had paid.
No one could stop him from giving a divine formation to Zhang Ruochen's daughter.