Chapter 254: Knowing the Sword Intent in the Pool
(Regarding the copper needle testing for poison, it’s certainly not because of blood. Copper needles have always been used on meridians and acupoints. This world and our world are not the same. Of course, I admit that when I wrote it, I didn’t think about this at all…)
The reason the forest suddenly became so quiet was not because that expert from the Heaven’s Gift Sect had voiced the thoughts in everyone’s minds.
No one believed that Chen Changsheng would take the opportunity of treating injuries to secretly poison anyone. There was no logic to it, no reason to be found. Everyone knew that Chen Changsheng was deeply favored by His Holiness the Pope and supported by the Orthodoxy Council. At such a young age, he had shocked the world by becoming the National Academy. No matter how you looked at it, his future was boundless. Compared to that future, no benefit within the Garden of Zhou could drive him to do such a thing.
The silence came because people were very curious about how Chen Changsheng would respond to such an unreasonable accusation.
Chen Changsheng showed no reaction. The red-rimmed eyes of that Heaven’s Gift Sect expert and his face, twisted nearly out of shape by grief, were all reflected in Chen Changsheng’s gaze.
He and Zheshe turned and walked out of the forest. Senior Sister Tong and Ye Xiaolian came over to meet them, worry written on their faces.
Chen Changsheng briefly explained the situation in the forest, then left the stream bank with Zheshe, once again stepping into the vast world of the Garden of Zhou.
Not long after they left, Senior Sister Tong and two other renowned cultivators led the group of cultivators, supporting each other, toward the garden at the entrance. In the middle of the procession, a stretcher had been added. The deceased Sect Master Fei lay on it with his eyes closed, and occasional sobs rose from the stream bank.
Standing on a large rock among the cliffs, watching the procession move downstream along the riverbank, Chen Changsheng felt relieved.
“Your handling of this is problematic.”
Zheshe said expressionlessly, “When disagreements arise within a group, no matter what means you use, you should suppress them. If you want to survive, obedience is the most important thing.”
Chen Changsheng said nothing. He turned and entered the dense forest.
The search and rescue continued. More and more human cultivators were gathered together, scattered across three gardens, and they had already established contact with each other. The problem was, if the Garden of Zhou couldn’t be opened for another day, were they all supposed to remain in these seemingly beautiful but treasureless gardens forever?
Over the next two days, something even more terrifying happened. Several more cultivators died mysteriously, one after another, still from poisoning. But whether it was those traveling with them or those who examined the bodies afterward, no cause could be found. As time passed, the pressure on everyone grew heavier. Some might break down, others might grow numb. More cultivators would likely leave these three gardens again, venturing deep into the Garden of Zhou to search for the priceless magical artifacts and legacies that meant so much to cultivators. In their view, staying with others was actually more dangerous.
Yes, many cultivators had already begun to suspect that all of this was a demon conspiracy. But even at this moment, no one believed that demons could have infiltrated the Garden of Zhou. Everyone knew that at the garden gate, Zhu Luo, Drinking Alone Under the Moon, was standing guard, and Bishop Meriisa, along with a group of Orthodoxy priests, was verifying identities. Even the most mysterious demon strategist, Black Robe, couldn’t possibly have slipped in.
Since there were no demons in the Garden of Zhou, the danger must come from humans themselves—from among their own ranks.
Chen Changsheng dipped his feet into the cool stream water and let out a comfortable sigh.
In two days, he had traveled nearly a thousand li. For him, it was extremely exhausting. His clothes were covered in dust, and his brows and eyes were filled with fatigue.
Compared to him, Zheshe seemed much tougher, as if this wolf-tribe youth didn’t know what tiredness was.
Chen Changsheng looked at a few small white fish in the deeper part of the stream and said, “I still don’t believe there’s a traitor.”
Zheshe said, “Four people have already been poisoned to death. Since we’re certain there are no demons in the Garden of Zhou, the poisoner must be a traitor.”
It was a very simple and clear deduction.
But Chen Changsheng still found it hard to accept.
The alliance of humans and demons against the demons—this war was a war of extermination. Traitors were extremely rare on either side.
“Although the war has actually been continuing on the edge of the snowfield, for most beings on the continent, there hasn’t been war for many years. Many beings have long forgotten the terror of the demons, forgotten that this is a war of extermination.” Zheshe said coldly, “In the snowfield, I’ve seen many deer-men acting as guides for the demons many times. It’s not surprising that among the human cultivators in the Garden of Zhou, there are traitors bought by the demons.”
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said, “I’ve been reluctant to admit there are traitors because everyone has already started suspecting each other. I think this distrust is more dangerous.”
Zheshe admitted that manipulating people’s hearts had always been the most terrifying aspect of the demons.
The demons didn’t need to enter the Garden of Zhou at all. They only needed to cut off contact between the inside and outside of the garden, then let the traitors stir up trouble and do some malicious deeds. The human cultivators would fall into chaos.
Such things had happened many times in history.
Chen Changsheng continued, “These several hundred cultivators at the Penetrating Obscurity realm are the future of humanity. Among them are many excellent and powerful people. The number of traitors the demons can buy off can’t be too many. So, as long as these several hundred cultivators don’t suspect, guard against, or confront each other, as long as their hearts don’t scatter, the demons can’t accomplish anything.”
Zheshe said expressionlessly, “If you could achieve that, you humans would have unified the continent long ago.”
Chen Changsheng was silent.
Based on his observations over the past two days, especially today in the forest by the stream, he could confirm that the hearts of these several hundred cultivators had already scattered.
He was the leader entrusted with great responsibility by the Li Palace, so the cultivators of the Orthodoxy’s Northern Sect had a duty to look after. And the high regard that Gou Hanshi had for him made his sense of responsibility even heavier.
But if people’s hearts were scattered, how could the team be led?
“As long as we stay in the gardens, it should be fine. Those who were poisoned all died in the wilderness. So, for now, don’t worry about these people. We need to hurry and find the rest.”
Chen Changsheng pulled his feet out of the stream water, stood wetly on a rock, and looked toward the faintly visible mountain ridges on the other side of the sky.
He had already counted. The cultivators who had been found and gathered in the gardens were still over a hundred short of the total number who had entered the garden.
“Some people don’t want to be found by you. How are you going to find them?”
Zheshe said expressionlessly, “People like Liang Xiaoxiao, Qi Jian, Zhuang Huanyu, and those experts at the upper level of Penetrating Obscurity from various sects—none of them have been seen.”
Chen Changsheng shook his feet, put on his shoes, and tied his hair back tightly. “Even if the demons really have bought off some traitors, they wouldn’t dare to target these people.”
Zheshe said, “But they’re definitely watching from the shadows.”
Chen Changsheng thought of Gou Hanshi’s entrustment at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum and said, “Let’s go check out the Sword Pool.”
Even if he couldn’t meet up with Qi Jian and Liang Xiaoxiao, finding the Sword Pool would still be a good thing.
After two days and two nights of hard travel, he felt he had earned the right to think about himself for a bit.
Chen Changsheng and Zheshe left the stream bank and walked into the forest.
They would consider the dangers hidden in the wilderness for other cultivators, yet they seemed to have no concern for their own safety.
Because they were both young. Though they didn’t show much outward passion, their confidence was never lacking. Setting off on the journey together, of course, they were fearless.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the mountains they were crossing, the girl in the white ceremonial robe was also walking.
She was alone, still fearless, her expression calm. At some point, a bow had appeared on her shoulder.
Arriving at the stream they had first reached, they took the same old path, going upstream. Passing the place where the Qingxu Temple abbot and Senior Sister Tong of the Holy Maiden Peak had fought the day before, Chen Changsheng and Zheshe didn’t even glance at the dark bloodstains left on the riverbank. They continued forward in silence, not speaking for a long time.
Neither of them was good at conversation, nor did they particularly like talking. Their exchanges over the past two days in the Garden of Zhou counted as frequent communication.
In the quiet forest, occasional bird calls sounded—creatures startled by their footsteps.
Chen Changsheng remembered reading in the Daoist Canon that, many years ago, someone had found the scabbard of an ancient sword in this forest.
Liang Xiaoxiao, Qi Jian, and Zhuang Huanyu had all disappeared upstream along this river, which only strengthened his judgment.
If there really was a Sword Pool in the Garden of Zhou, it should be in this direction.
The Li Mountain Sword Sect wanting to find the legendary Sword Pool was only natural.
Chen Changsheng and Zheshe didn’t know at this moment that the claim that no one had ever seen a sword in the Garden of Zhou was wrong.
Many years ago, that young master surnamed Su from Li Mountain had found a sword here and brought it out of the Garden of Zhou.
But for some reason, this matter had never been widely circulated.
The water volume of this stream wasn’t very abundant, especially as they went upstream. After passing several tributaries, the current slowed, becoming as clear and shallow as a mirror.
But this stream was very long. The two of them started walking at dawn and didn’t reach the end until the sun was high in the sky.
Like many streams, its end was a cliff, from which a waterfall cascaded down like a silver ribbon.
Below the waterfall was a deep pool. The falling water plunged into the pool, emitting a constant, low roar.
Zheshe looked up, squinting at the top of the waterfall. Under the blazing sun, the thin layer of water on the cliff edge was as transparent as glass. He confirmed that this was already the mountain peak.
“I’ll go up and take a look.”
After saying this, without waiting for Chen Changsheng’s reaction, he dashed swiftly toward the cliff. Midway, his body suddenly lowered, and with a whoosh, he turned into a gray shadow, leaping onto the cliff wall over ten zhang high. With a series of scraping sounds, he rapidly traversed the cliff face, reaching the top in an instant.
Chen Changsheng watched from below, vaguely seeing that as he moved, his hands seemed to emit a cold light.
Zheshe’s figure disappeared above the waterfall. He must have gone to check the true source of the water.
Chen Changsheng withdrew his gaze and looked at the pool beneath the waterfall, his heart stirring slightly.
This was already the mountain peak. The spring water emerged from the green hills, so the volume couldn’t be too large. That was what Chen Changsheng and Zheshe saw as well.
The waterfall was very thin, the water volume very small. So why was the pool beneath it so deep?
He walked to the edge of the pool and looked into the water. It was pitch-dark, the bottom invisible.
He calmed his mind and slowly released his spiritual sense, probing toward the bottom of the pool.
His spiritual sense sank down an unknown distance. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his eyes, as if a thin leaf had scraped them.
He closed his eyes and began to cry.
It was a sword intent.
Though ethereal and elusive, he was very certain—it was a sword intent.
(These past few days, it’s been one chapter each. After the 2nd, I’ll whip the horse and speed up.)