Fu Mo had arrived quite late, and in just two days, it would be the Great Elder's birthday banquet. After him, only the disciples of the Heavenly Mountain Sect were left because of the great distance of their journey, they arrived a bit later, the next day. When they ascended the mountain, they were still wrapped with an unspeakable cold air, swords slung on their backs, dressed in blue clothes, gazing straightforwardly ahead without a flicker.
Is this the other force that Jiu Zizai, the senior, mentioned, who could bring their juniors to this Qingfeng Edge besides Fufeng Academy?
Heavenly Mountain Sword Sect.
Wang Anfeng stood on one side of the practice field, watching those sword-bearing young men and women, recalling the assessment of this sect given by Li Kangsheng back when he was in Great Liang Village.
They imbue the cold essence of Heavenly Mountain into their sword momentum, lofty and sharp, sacred in the eyes of swordsmen across the world.
Wang Anfeng's eyes fell on the longswords on the backs of the youths, yet he wondered if he could break the world-renowned swordsmanship with his own 72 maneuvers. He then considered that as a holy land of the Sword Dao worldwide, this sect surely wouldn't lack similar martial arts skills.
When two swordsmanship schools, both centered on breaking moves, confronted each other, which one would prove superior?
Wang Anfeng began to ponder this question, while the disciples of the Heavenly Mountain Sect gradually drew nearer.
Due to the special connection between the founders of the Heavenly Mountain Sect and Qingfeng Edge, Gong Yu personally greeted them. As he passed in front of the youths, Wang Anfeng instinctively perceived a faint chill that made his spine tingle, pulling him out of his baseless reveries, his pupils slightly constricted.
The young man turned around, his gaze involuntarily falling on those disciples, noticing their time-inappropriate tattered clothing, the white cloth wrapped around the base of two disciples' right palms, and the young swordsmen with their lips pursed, all displaying an abnormally pale complexion, causing him to frown slightly.
Jiu Zizai seemed to appear out of nowhere behind him, observing the tardy swordsmen, his eyes revealing a mix of admiration and respect, then noticing the confusion on his face, chuckled and said,
"You needn't be curious, lad."
"As one of the top seven sects, Heavenly Mountain is utterly unlike the other sects. Its disciples do not rely on horses, and wherever they go, they specifically pass through dense forests. Being a true swordsman, one must stain their hands with the blood of treachery to wield their sword without regret."
"Ordinary people perceive it as their temperament being stern, but they do not realize it actually constitutes the presence of killing intent."
"The sharper the sword, the more the wielder must have undergone countless trials to be able to swing such a sharp sword, to have enough confidence to control such fierceness."
His voice paused briefly, then looking at Wang Anfeng, he meaningfully spoke,
"In this world, martial arts cultivation is still related to one's character. No matter how skilled the martial arts, it ultimately relies on the individual, with 'self' as the most important. Truly skilled martial heroes must possess qualities beyond ordinary people; their character must be extraordinary."
"The faster the sword, the martial artist's character must transcend this type of swordsmanship. Even those rapidly learned evil martial arts require a haughtiness that slaughters the world to become powerful. Being timid, with not enough profound thoughts, staying in one place to painstakingly cultivate, one will never become skilled."
Wang Anfeng knew this was Jiu Zizai mentoring him. He answered solemnly, his gaze falling on a young leader of the Heavenly Mountain Sect, who seemed to notice his stare, turned his head, a very handsome youth, but with an unusually pale face, even his lips lacked any trace of color, showing not the slightest arrogance, he nodded gently at Wang Anfeng.
Wang Anfeng nodded back in greeting.
He had first learned some basics from Li Kangsheng and his wife, later becoming a disciple of Wu Changqing. Although far from being a qualified physician, he could still discern the injuries on this youth's body, combined with the still lingering killing intent.
It seemed he had just gone through quite a bitter confrontation.
The young man had many thoughts diverging in his mind.
The last day passed leisurely.
The disciples of Qingfeng Edge had been busy for a month and finally welcomed the Great Elder's birthday banquet. Although martial artists practice Inner Strength and refine their bodies, granting them longer lives than ordinary people, navigating through Jianghu, with its myriad of blades and swords, gusts of wind and showers of blood, was hard to explain to others.
A seventieth birthday is indeed rare and worthy of grand celebration in Jianghu.
Alas, Qingfeng Edge was after all a secluded sect, and with the Great Elder being naturally indifferent, the so-called seventieth birthday banquet resembled more a family dinner compared to the lively, gorgeous banquets Wang Anfeng had previously attended. The elders sat at one table, the younger generation at another, and the Great Elder with her old friends from her youth at yet another.
At the head of the table, the Great Elder still looked as serene and radiant as an immortal, surpassing others in beauty, and her cultivation was profound, having reached the Grandmaster Realm of the Upper Third Rank. However, her friends from her younger days in Jianghu had not been as fortunate; among those Wang Anfeng saw were many elderly men and women of merely the Lower Third Rank, with white hair and wrinkled skin, long past their youthful appearance.
At this age, perhaps this banquet was their final meeting.
Wang Anfeng watched these elderly people drinking boldly, in a manner that utterly belied their age.
He watched as they raised their cups, their youthful recklessness, their enjoyment of old grudges, and the unspoken dreams of their youth all mixed into the strong liquor, which they drank heartily. With a turn, a wave of the sleeve, they said their final words on the Tao, "The roads of Jianghu are long; take care my friends."
Once they descended the mountain, it would be a forever farewell.
The woman in white with ink-black hair still had a cool demeanor, but seemed to lack her usual serene, immortallike poise as she mingled with the elderly Jianghu figures—her eyes sparkled brightly, and she exhibited unexpectedly bold gestures.
But perhaps, after today, the Great Elder's demeanor would completely return to being quiet and indifferent?
For some reason, Wang Anfeng was deeply moved.
Next to him, Qinshuang tapped her finger lightly on the porcelain cup and suddenly said:
"This banquet should really be called the Jade Void banquet."
Apart from the four from Fufeng Academy at this table, there were also five swordsmen from the Heavenly Mountain Sword Sect, including a young girl who seemed puzzled by this remark and looked toward Qinshuang, who appeared as a handsome youth, and asked:
"What do you mean by that?"
Qinshuang merely shook her head, smiling without a word.
Wang Anfeng glanced at the Great Elder and lowered his voice, whispering:
"Utter solitude begets the alchemist's aura, soaring through the obscure abyss to reach Jade Void."
Qinshuang looked at him in slight surprise, and seeing a hint of melancholy in the young man's eyes, she knew he shared her sentiment.
Wang Anfeng was reciting two lines from the "Pace the Void Verse" by a Taoist master.
Though the others at the table were young, they had all heard it, and the leading youth from Heavenly Mountain upon hearing it seemed to understand, set down his chopsticks and said:
"Jade Void is a realm of Taoism, pure and transcendent, emblematic of an Immortal."
"What Brother Xue suggests, that the Great Elder's strength is immeasurable, still appearing as youthful at seventy, truly transcends the secular world. Describing her with the words 'Jade Void' is indeed fitting."
This youth was Bai Lie, only fifteen years old yet leading the disciples of the Heavenly Mountain Sword Sect, which indicated his martial and swordsmanship skills must be top notch. At this moment, he articulated his understanding, his expression filled with hope and confidence, clearly aspiring to the Martial Arts realm of the Upper Third Rank.
Unexpectedly, a chuckle came from nearby, turning all eyes toward it, they saw an elder with white hair and a weathered face sitting next to Baili Feng.
This elder, while being a senior, had insisted on sitting among the younger group, refusing repeated invitations to move, causing the people of Heavenly Mountain to inwardly chuckle but also somewhat underestimate him. Just then, they saw Fu Mo lowering his gaze to the tender steamed meat in his bowl, muttering:
"Ah, 'Utter solitude begets the alchemist's aura, soaring through the obscure abyss to reach Jade Void.' Immortals, so powerful, able to ride the winds and command the alchemist's aura, and ascend directly to the Jade Void."
"But to ascend on the alchemist's aura; the first two words are crucial, the first being 'utter', which is the solitude of loneliness, and the second being 'solitude,' meaning to sever all ties. One must sever all attachments to this mundane world, to experience absolute loneliness, cold as a stone, unswayed in heart or mind, only then can one become an Immortal."
"It seems being an Immortal isn't necessarily a good thing."
PS: The second release.