"Though this man looked utterly ordinary, his cultivation had already reached the pinnacle of perfection. If he wished, he could ascend to become Free and Unfettered at any time, anywhere!"
Zhen Chanzi's words greatly surprised Wang Qi. "He could actually hold himself back from breaking through?"
"At the time, he was seeking perfection." Zhen Chanzi explained calmly. Such things had not been uncommon over the past several tens of thousands of years.
Yet Wang Qi felt that something was off.
Wasn't the Immortal Alliance guarding against foreign enemies? Free and Unfettered Cultivators should have been vital combat strength, shouldn't they? Why would he not seek a swift breakthrough?
Afraid that the black-clad cultivator might overhear the contents of his exchange with Zhen Chanzi, Wang Qi did not use divine consciousness to transmit his thoughts to Zhen Chanzi... Well, although this half-step Free and Unfettered Grandmaster before him did not look like someone who would eavesdrop, one could never be too careful.
Only after Xiang Qi and Su Junyu had paid their respects did the black-clad cultivator notice the people around him. His dull eyes rolled about, taking a long while to find their focus. "You are?"
Su Junyu answered, "This disciple is Su Junyu, an eighty-second-generation True Disciple of the Myriad Dharma Sect and currently an assistant instructor at Xinyue Immortal Academy."
"Mhm, I remember you. You are under Divine Lord Bai Ze..." The black-clad cultivator spoke slowly and without any imposing manner. Yet cold sweat broke out on Su Junyu's forehead.
A Pu Na, the peerless Bai Ze, was quite generous toward juniors, but among cultivators of the same rank, his reputation was not especially good. Seeing the sect master specifically mention his lineage, Su Junyu's heart rose to his throat.
Fortunately, the black-clad cultivator quickly changed the subject. "You just said that you are an assistant instructor at Xinyue Immortal Academy?"
Su Junyu sighed in relief. "Yes."
"Oh, then my calculation was correct. After entering through the Wu character gate, one can reach this place by following this formula."
Wang Qi broke out in a cold sweat. "Senior, couldn't you just walk over normally...?"
Damn it, even walking had to follow a formula? Was this the rhythm of cultivation deviation?
"I was calculating a problem. If I walk according to a formula, I need not watch the road." The black-clad cultivator answered Wang Qi's question very seriously, carrying the air of a generous elder—if only he had not been sprawled on the ground.
Could he have forgotten...?
An absurd thought suddenly flashed through Wang Qi's mind.
The black-clad cultivator turned to Su Junyu again. "Do you know where Brother Jiaxuan is?"
Su Junyu nodded. "This disciple shall lead Martial Uncle there at once."
"State the Qiankun position where he is. An approximate one will do. Use yourself as the Yuan position."
Su Junyu froze for a moment, then said, "Heavenly axis thirty-three, vertical axis seven hundred and thirty-five, horizontal axis seven hundred and seventy-four."
"Mhm, thank you." The black-clad cultivator thanked him very earnestly, then suddenly vanished.
Wang Qi's expression stiffened. "That was...?"
Su Junyu wiped away cold sweat. "Chuan You Xiang Yu... a Void-Piercing Escape Technique of the Myriad Dharma Sect..."
Xiang Qi could not help but complain, "Damn rich bastard. Think about it the Myriad Dharma Sect way—why, when he clearly knew a Void-Piercing Escape Technique, didn't he just come straight up from the foot of the mountain...?"
Su Junyu answered uncertainly, "Uh... perhaps he felt that he did not have an accurate Qiankun position?"
So because he lacked a three-dimensional coordinate for his destination, he simply would not teleport... Holy shit, Sect Master, you were way too adorably dense, weren't you?
Xiang Qi covered her face. "Every time I meet one of the Myriad Dharma Sect's great figures, I feel that joining Burning Gold Valley back then was truly wonderful..."
Su Junyu said, "For some reason, I kind of want to nod..."
Wang Qi weakly raised a hand and asked, "Was that senior the sect master of the Myriad Dharma Sect? He really was... distinctive."
Su Junyu said, "The Sect Master is merely too engrossed in solving problems... Since childhood, he loved calculations. Back then, a senior from the Liuyun Sect introduced him to the Immortal Dao, and he developed an enormous interest in mathematics."
"And what should this Sect Master be called?"
Xiang Qi sighed. "You know far too little about the Immortal Dao's old tales. That makes it very easy to offend seniors..."
"The Sect Master's surname is Chen, given name Jingyun. He is known as the 'Crown of Myriad Dharma.'"
Chen Jingyun, the Crown of Myriad Dharma, was a living legend of today's Myriad Dharma Sect.
Sect Master Chen had been born into poverty. Later, Shen Yuan, a senior of the Liuyun Sect, brought him onto the path of immortality. At that time, the Immortal Alliance had not yet been established, and Chen Jingyun directly entered the Liuyun Sect. But True Person Shen soon discovered that this child had only middling interest in the Liuyun Sect's Dao arts, while he was instead exceedingly fond of the famous mathematical problems that Liuyun Sect disciples used for amusement. Not wishing to delay an outstanding disciple's future, the Liuyun Sect sent Chen Jingyun to the Myriad Dharma Sect—such things were not uncommon in the modern Immortal Dao. The Liuyun Sect soon forgot all about it; even True Person Shen barely remembered having taught such a disciple.
Yet Chen Jingyun shone brilliantly in the Myriad Dharma Sect. Before long, he became a disciple of Hua Ruogeng, the previous generation's vice sect master of the Myriad Dharma Sect. Chen Jingyun successively solved numerous mathematical problems within the sect, and now he was independently scaling the greatest obstacle in mathematics: Mingzhu's calculation! In Mingzhu's calculation alone, even Xiboche, Lord of Myriad Dharma, could not compare to him. And since Mingzhu's calculation was praised as "the pearl in the crown of mathematics," Chen Jingyun was also known as the "Crown of Myriad Dharma"!
Chuan You Xiang Yu was a famous Void-Piercing Escape Technique of the Immortal Dao. Its foundation was a supreme algorithm of the Myriad Dharma Sect, the "Cosmic Calculation" that Earthlings called "Hilbert space." Entirely unlike the anciently passed-down "Five Elements Escape Technique," "Lightning Escape," and the like, Chuan You Xiang Yu relied upon "vectors"—quantities possessing both magnitude and direction. So long as vectors existed nearby, the caster could borrow their force through this Dao art to pass through the void.
This was not Chen Jingyun's first time traversing the void. He was certain that he had arrived before his old friend.
Yet contrary to his expectations, the moment he stepped out of the void, what met him head-on was a blazing, majestic sword intent!
At first glance, this sword strike did not seem to contain many variations, yet it held boundless force and came roaring like a tidal wave. The Sword Qi's thunderous cry nearly shook Chen Jingyun's Primordial Spirit! An ordinary Free and Unfettered Cultivator might not have been able to block this blow.
Yet Chen Jingyun remained unhurried as he drew his sword.
The sword momentum of the Myriad Dharma Sect Master opened up another world entirely. He casually swung out a single stroke. Unlike his opponent's great skill appearing clumsy, which concealed infinite mysteries within Sword Qi, this stroke held no hidden profundity. If the incoming sword were compared to baijiu, then this sword was true clear water, devoid of any mystery.
Who could have imagined that the Myriad Dharma Sect Master, who excelled most at deriving myriad Dharma from one Dharma, would use such an utterly plain and ordinary sword strike?
His opponent gave a soft "Eh," without the slightest contempt. He stepped forward, turned, altered his hand technique, and used overwhelming force to suppress the counterattack.
One force could subdue ten thousand techniques; one force could also break myriad Dharma.
Chen Jingyun's sword collided with the opposing sword, then bounced away as though it had encountered no force at all. Yet his opponent felt his offensive momentum stall. Chen Jingyun did not let this flaw slip by. His sword momentum abruptly accelerated, and with two more extremely simple strokes, he swiftly struck the same spot.
Amid a crisp metallic clash, the incoming sword momentum shattered, turning into a scorching gust that swept across his face.
Chen Jingyun silently sheathed his sword. The attacker, however, was greatly excited. "Brother Jingyun! You really did incorporate 'One plus Two' into your swordsmanship!"
"Brother Jiaxuan flatters me." Chen Jingyun cupped his hands and replied.
The one who had attacked just now was Deng Jiaxuan, master of Sky Sword Palace, the "Sword Roaring the Heavens"!
Deng Jiaxuan came from Guanghua Hall before later taking residence in Sky Sword Palace. Unlike Qian Xueshen, he was not only highly skilled in battle; his comprehension in seeking the Dao was no inferior to the geniuses of his generation. Had he not devoted himself to battle cultivation because of Sky Sword Palace affairs, thereby delaying his enlightenment of the Dao, he might have left a place for himself upon the Stairway to Heaven.
Deng Jiaxuan exchanged a few pleasantries with Chen Jingyun, then asked, "So it was you who came? I thought it would be someone else..."
"There are too few Free and Unfettered Cultivators to go around." Chen Jingyun shook his head. "Besides, guarding the Immortal Alliance headquarters sounds like a grave responsibility, but in truth it is merely an idle post. No one would come attack this place."
Deng Jiaxuan laughed. "Not entirely. The foremost person beneath Free and Unfettered is not weak either."
Chen Jingyun cupped his hands again. "Brother Jiaxuan flatters me."
After testing their swordsmanship, Deng Jiaxuan invited Chen Jingyun to sit. A table laden with fine dishes had long been prepared, and Deng Jiaxuan took out a jug of fine wine and filled two cups.
"Brother Jiaxuan still loves fine food as much as ever."
Deng Jiaxuan laughed. "Other than seeking the Dao, the thing this elder brother loves most is eating."
Chen Jingyun had come to take over Deng Jiaxuan's duty of guarding the place. The two handed over several matters over the dinner table.
Chen Jingyun suddenly said, "I actually have other business as well. A True Disciple of my Myriad Dharma Sect has fallen, and I need to see what exactly happened."
Deng Jiaxuan was stunned upon hearing this, then sighed deeply. "What a pity. Li Ziye was a good child. Children like him, single-mindedly devoted to protecting the world, are rare."
As he spoke, Deng Jiaxuan raised the wine cup before him and drained it in one gulp.
The wine had barely gone down when Deng Jiaxuan's expression suddenly changed. He turned his head aside, covered his mouth, and began coughing violently. "Ahem... cough, cough, cough, cough... ahem..."
Chen Jingyun's expression changed. He warned, "Brother Jiaxuan, if your injuries have not healed, drink less!"
Deng Jiaxuan waved a hand and smiled bitterly. "An old problem... ahem, cough..."
Without another word, Chen Jingyun seized one of his wrists, then was immediately shocked. "You are already injured this badly!"
Unable to conceal it any longer, Deng Jiaxuan could only say, "Brother, do not speak recklessly of this matter."
Chen Jingyun frowned. "With injuries this severe, you still intend to hunt down Unforgiving Taoist?"
Deng Jiaxuan's expression turned solemn. "How can the Immortal Alliance's half-year preparations be discarded because of one man?"
Improper Taoist Haishenbao was said to possess the strangest movement technique under heaven and earth. Once his Unfathomable Body Technique unfolded, no one could simultaneously see through both his position and speed. To deal with the Unfathomable Body Technique, one could only use overwhelming force to blanket every place where Unforgiving Taoist might possibly be, breaking cleverness with strength. Thus, after learning of Unforgiving Taoist's whereabouts, the Immortal Alliance dispatched all its Grandmasters and laid down a net spanning heaven and earth across the Divine Land, hoping to wear Unforgiving Taoist down until his oil ran dry and his lamp was extinguished, force him into the sea, then achieve victory in a single strike.
Once they reached the sea, there would be no need to worry about harming innocents. The ancient cultivators overseas and the Demon Race beneath the sea were all enemies!
The only problem was that Unforgiving Taoist had been an unmatched genius who had dared to forge the Heavenly Sword after gathering several Grandmasters. How could his power possibly be weak?
Only a handful in the Divine Land could defeat him through sheer force!
Chen Jingyun said, "You are not the only one who can accomplish this."
Deng Jiaxuan looked somewhat proud. "You said it yourself: there are not enough Free and Unfettered Cultivators. Taiyi Tianzun Ai Citam possesses tremendous power, while Wave Heavenly Lord Xueding'e can see through ethereal strange arts, but—they cannot get away. 'That place' cannot spare manpower even more than the headquarters."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jingyun rose to his feet and bowed toward Deng Jiaxuan. "My apologies."
Deng Jiaxuan waved him off. "We are brothers. Your pursuit of perfection before breaking through is a good thing, greatly beneficial for the future. Enough, enough. Eat. Once we finish this meal, I will go capture Unforgiving Taoist alive."
"To capture Brother Hai alive, the Immortal Alliance has truly gone all out."
Seeing that Chen Jingyun was somewhat dejected, Deng Jiaxuan laughed. "Forget it. True Person Hai's talent and comprehension are both above mine. The innovations of the modern Dharma, even this old ailment of mine, may yet fall upon him to resolve. Thinking of it that way, doesn't it make things much easier?"
Before you continue