Chapter 330: The Mountain and Sea Sword
The torrential rain continued to fall. Teng Xiaoming struggled to his feet, wiped the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and stared at the iron sword in Chen Changsheng's hand, stunned into silence. He wondered what kind of sword this was, to possess such terrifying weight, thunderous power, and unimaginably profound sword intent. Where had this iron sword come from? Why had it appeared before the mausoleum?
Chen Changsheng knew the iron sword had come from the Sword Pool. Although he still only knew that the Sword Pool was somewhere in this rain-drenched grassland, without knowing its exact location, the moment he grasped the hilt, he understood the iron sword's origin.
In the history of the sword, this iron sword was very famous. It was called the Mountain and Sea Sword.
Countless years ago, the Heavenly Book transformed into countless meteorites, trailing fire as they fell to the world, landing at the continent's center, which was now the Heavenly Book Mausoleum. Besides those stone steles, there were many remaining meteorite fragments. The ancients collected those meteorite fragments, using every method to refine them, finally producing meteorite iron, also known as true meteorite gold. Meteorite iron was unlike any metal on the continent—extremely heavy, extremely dense, extremely tough, extremely strong—and could be said to be the best material for forging swords. In fact, the vast majority of the continent's meteorite iron had been used to forge a single sword.
That sword was the heavy black iron sword now in Chen Changsheng's hand.
Its weight was like a mountain, its might like the sea, hence its name: the Mountain and Sea Sword.
The iron rod in Teng Xiaoming's hand contained only four taels of true meteorite gold, yet it was as heavy as a mountain. How much heavier, then, must this iron sword, forged entirely from meteorite iron, be? How terrifying its power?
The Mountain and Sea Sword was very famous in history. Whether on the battlefield or outside the Tong Palace, this sword and its successive masters had enacted scenes of joy and sorrow, life and death, grandeur and tragedy. Before this iron sword, countless experts and famous figures had fallen. But what truly made the Mountain and Sea Sword shine was its last recorded master.
A thousand years ago, a powerful expert named Xike appeared on the continent. He possessed the bloodline of the White Emperor clan and was said to cultivate a long-lost Buddhist sect technique. Combined with his innate divine strength, in terms of pure power and momentum, he could rank among the top three in history. And when he raised that heavy iron sword in his hand, he could stand against ten thousand troops.
Only such an expert was worthy of wielding the Mountain and Sea Sword, of unleashing its full power. And only the Mountain and Sea Sword could match such a peerless expert. No one knew whether it was Xike who forged the Mountain and Sea Sword's unparalleled reputation, or the Mountain and Sea Sword that stirred countless storms across the continent in Xike's time. But one thing was certain: when the iron sword met the strong man, it surpassed countless others.
Wielding the Mountain and Sea Sword, Xike defeated powerful enemies across the continent. The Grand Instructor of the Huai Academy and the Grand Elder of the Longevity Sect were both his defeated opponents. His dominance was unmatched; some even believed he had entered the Saintly Realm. In the end… like many peerless experts of that era, he strode into the Zhou Garden with high spirits, then left it with a dead heart. The Mountain and Sea Sword never appeared by his side again. Three years later, in a chance conflict outside Yunyang City, he died at the hands of a newly rising junior…
That question seemed to have found its answer. Without the Mountain and Sea Sword, he was merely an ordinary expert. But the Pope had a completely different judgment. He believed the most important thing was that what Xike lost when he was defeated in the Zhou Garden was not this sword, but his proud and domineering sword heart.
This was the Mountain and Sea Sword. If one were to list the ten most famous swords in the world, no matter who made the selection, this iron sword would surely be among them. The Mountain and Sea Sword used the rarest meteorite iron, took the longest time to forge, and was the most precious. Whoever could possess this iron sword would surely be beside themselves with excitement, unable to believe their luck. Chen Changsheng was also very happy. He thought that if he could take this iron sword out of the Zhou Garden, it would be most suitable for Xuanyuan Po. And Zhe Xiu had always said he wanted a sword—what kind of sword should he get for him?
It was only then that he noticed the very top of the iron sword was not naturally straight. The legend that the Mountain and Sea Sword was absolutely blunt was not entirely accurate. Come to think of it, such a divine weapon must conceal a hidden edge within its bluntness. But it had been cut off… had it been cut by that knife? To be able to cut off a section of the Mountain and Sea Sword, how powerful must that knife be? And how powerful must that person be?
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The Mountain and Sea Sword had not appeared in the world for nearly a thousand years, leaving only legends. So Teng Xiaoming hadn't recognized it at first. But after only a few glances, recalling the mountain-and-sea-like force from the iron sword earlier, he naturally guessed the iron sword's origin. He became even more shocked, remained silent, and furrowed his brow slightly, lost in thought.
Nanke also recognized the iron sword's origin. Her clear, childish voice pierced through the rain curtain, filled with anger and disbelief: "This is impossible! How could the Mountain and Sea Sword appear for a wretch like you!"
Chen Changsheng said nothing. He raised the iron sword and pointed it at her through the wind and rain. Action spoke louder than words. If the Mountain and Sea Sword had not appeared for him, why was it now in his hand?
"And you don't even understand the Mountain and Sea Sword's techniques! How can you unleash such power?" Nanke asked a very important question. As mentioned earlier, even if the Mountain and Sea Sword and its sword intent existed, without the corresponding techniques, how could Chen Changsheng, at the upper level of Penetrating Obscurity, so easily defeat a demon general?
Chen Changsheng had no intention of hiding it. He said to her, "I've read quite a few books."
This was what Gou Hanshi had said to him at last year's Ivy Banquet, and also what he had said to Gou Hanshi. It was something only he and Gou Hanshi were qualified to say to each other, and no one else, because no one had read more books than the two of them.
Three thousand Daoist scriptures, encompassing all phenomena, like jade and beauty, also containing a thousand methods. Methods were the gateways.
After saying this, Chen Changsheng suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia for the Ivy Banquet, for the capital, for the National Academy. The disputes of those times were all about youthful pride, not life and death, not human and demon. There were no despicable assassinations, sneak attacks, or betrayals. Looking back now, those disputes seemed somewhat laughable, yet also so endearing. Compared to the bloodshed in the Zhou Garden, how could he not feel nostalgic?
The area around the mausoleum fell silent again. Because the legendary Mountain and Sea Sword had appeared. Because Chen Changsheng actually knew how to use it. Most crucially, this was not sword intent but a real sword. Not many knew that a sword had once appeared in the Zhou Garden, only to be picked up by Su Li. In the eyes of Nanke and other demon clan experts, the iron sword in Chen Changsheng's hand was the first sword to appear in the Zhou Garden's history. What did this mean? It was unprecedented. The unprecedented was often accompanied by thunder and earth-shattering changes.
Where had this heavy black iron sword come from? Did its sudden appearance mean the Sword Pool was about to reveal itself? Would the famous swords of legend appear one after another? What puzzled Nanke most, even angered her, was that she couldn't understand why the Sword Pool was helping Chen Changsheng. She looked at the dim grassland around the mausoleum, letting the rain wash her pale little face. She squinted, searching for a long time, but still saw no clue related to the Sword Pool. This made her even more silent.
"Could there be more swords to come? Will those swords continue to help you? Like that peerless sword intent and this domineering iron sword? Even if they do, can you master all the sword techniques? I don't believe it."
Nanke thought about these things, then stretched out her hands into the torrential rain.
With her movement, the two maidservants standing behind her in the rain suddenly turned pale. In particular, Hua Cui's charming brows and eyes twisted in agony. A stream of blood sprayed from her lips.
Nanke's petite body trembled slightly, as if she might collapse into the rain, but in the end, she didn't. An extremely yin-cold aura emanated from her body, mixing with the blood Hua Cui had spat out.
Hua Cui's blood was green.
That green blood was not diluted by the torrential rain. After mixing with Nanke's yin-cold aura, it became even more vivid, eerily enchanting. It was about to solidify but hadn't, its edges faintly undulating.
It was a peacock feather.
Whoosh! That peacock feather, half real and half illusory, pierced through countless layers of rain, hurtling toward him!
This peacock feather, mixed with Nanke's lifeblood essence, ignited upon contact with the wind. It burned fiercely all the way. Even the violent rain couldn't diminish the fire's intensity; instead, it made the flames even more ferocious!
Ever since fleeing into the grassland, Chen Changsheng had been treating Xu Yourong all along the way. He was very clear about the terror of this peacock feather. He didn't know if the yellow paper umbrella could withstand the burning of the peacock true blood. As for the toxins within that peacock true blood, they made him extremely vigilant.
He had to admit that Nanke's combat awareness and decisiveness were terrifying, possessing a maturity and ruthlessness far beyond her age. She didn't hesitate to expend her most precious lifeblood essence, specifically targeting Chen Changsheng's sword and umbrella. The heavy black iron sword was unmatched in power, domineering like a mountain and sea, but it lacked agility, especially in Chen Changsheng's hands. The sword intent within the yellow paper umbrella was even sharper, but toxins and true blood were things that couldn't be cut. Chen Changsheng wasn't too worried about poisoning himself, but he didn't want to get even a speck of that toxic blood on him. In an instant, he thought of countless ways to counter that peacock feather using the two swords and one umbrella at his side, but found that none were perfect. However, if he had that sword, he might be able to solve this problem.
When this thought arose, he himself found it absurd. Because it was too incredible, too extravagant, too unreasonable. Why should he get whatever he wanted? No one knew where that sword was. Even if it was in the Zhou Garden, why… why? Just because when he needed a sword intent, that sword intent came into his body? When he needed a heavy sword, the world's heaviest sword, the Mountain and Sea Sword, came to him in the rain, waiting for him to reach out and take it? Now he needed that sword, so perhaps… that sword would appear?
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(Next chapter before seven. Yesterday I mentioned the WeChat public account. Some friends asked about it. I thought everyone knew. It's on the book page: maoni1118. That's my WeChat public account. Personal matters like novel updates, plots, Q&A, games, merchandise, chit-chat, acting cute, cursing, etc., will basically be posted there.)