Asking the Old Man in Black About His Sword

Only after a long while did Jing Jiu withdraw his gaze and raise his head.

Just then, he happened to hear Lin Wuzhi's final words of the lesson.

"To accomplish all this, you must first find a sword of your own."

Lin Wuzhi led the dozen or so disciples out of the Sword-Washing Pavilion and upstream along Sword-Washing Creek. Before long, they reached the foot of a peak.

Compared with the other peaks, this one had little vegetation, much less dense forest. As far as the eye could see, there were only jagged cliffs and rocks, giving it a desolate appearance.

There were many small holes in the cliffs at the foot of the peak. Their openings were tiny, their edges extremely smooth, as though something had pierced them.

The upper half of the peak was shrouded in thick clouds and mist, impossible to see clearly.

This was Green Mountain's fourth peak, Cloud-Traveling Peak.

The disciples of the Green Mountain Sect were more accustomed to calling it Sword Peak, for countless swords lay hidden within it, waiting to be discovered by their owners.

Cloud-Traveling Peak was very unusual. Clouds and mist lingered year-round, and it was extremely damp among its slopes. With countless strands of sword intent hidden in the cliffs as well, living there was arduous. Thus, the masters and disciples of Cloud-Traveling Peak cultivated and lived at its foot, while the peak master attended councils at Heavenly Light Peak.

When powerful cultivators of the Green Mountain Sect approached the end of their lifespans, they would often come before this peak and return their flying swords to it.

Of course, if such a cultivator wished to take his flying sword to the grave, no one would force him to do otherwise.

But no matter how many powerful cultivators had returned their swords to the peak since the Green Mountain Sect's founding, their number could not possibly exceed the number of swords taken by later generations of disciples.

Why were there so many swords in Sword Peak? Where had the very first swords come from? No one could answer these questions.

Some said Sword Peak was a sword furnace formed naturally by heaven and earth. Others said it was a great tomb formed after powerful cultivators of a previous civilization had fought and perished together. Yet despite countless meticulous investigations over the years, the Green Mountain Sect had found no evidence to support either claim.

The disciples stood at the foot of the mountain, gazing at the peak amid the clouds and listening to Lin Wuzhi's explanation. Their eyes gradually began to ache, and a few even shed tears.

Naturally, they were neither indulging in wistful thoughts of antiquity nor reflecting on the grace of their predecessors. The sword intent had hurt their eyes.

Who knew how many thousands or tens of thousands of swords lay hidden within this peak? Their combined sword intent, even at such a distance, was more than these disciples newly admitted to the inner sect could withstand.

How were they supposed to climb Sword Peak? Or should they simply search these lower cliffs for swords?

Some disciples wondered to themselves.

Lin Wuzhi knew what the disciples were thinking. Rather than getting angry, he smiled and said, "Whatever you can think of, disciples of earlier generations naturally thought of too. I might as well tell you that the holes in these cliffs at the mountain's foot are sword holes. Who knows how many years people have searched them? If you can still find a sword there, that will count as your ability. Luck counts as ability too, doesn't it?"

The disciples were quite speechless. Just standing at the foot of the mountain was already so hard to bear. Did they really have to climb Sword Peak, perhaps even reach its summit?

"Do not forget," Lin Wuzhi reminded them, "the closer you get to the summit, the higher the quality of the flying swords."

One disciple suddenly thought of something and asked, "I heard Senior Sister Zhao has been cultivating and practicing her swordsmanship on Sword Peak all this time?"

"That's right," Lin Wuzhi said with a nod. "She should be up in the clouds right now."

The disciples were greatly shocked, and a flurry of discussion broke out.

Even standing below the mountain, they could already feel the chilling presence emanating from the clouds on Sword Peak. What a terrifying sensation it would be to walk into that mist!

Even the masters of the Cloud-Traveling Peak lineage were unwilling to remain on its slopes for too long, yet Zhao Layue had been staying at the summit all this time?

"Taking a sword from Sword Peak is also a test of your resolve and wisdom."

The word "wisdom" clearly carried a deeper meaning, but Lin Wuzhi offered no further explanation.

"Zhao Layue's steadfast will makes her a model for the third-generation disciples. You should learn from her."

Having said this, he cast an unobtrusive glance at Jing Jiu.

Jing Jiu understood his meaning. He neither turned away nor responded, but looked at the clouds over the peak and thought, Sword Intent Tempering Body?

Sword Intent Tempering Body was an extremely painful and perilous method. Generally speaking, no one used it except sword cultivators nearing the end of their lifespans, because the risks were too great.

Zhao Layue was a disciple the Green Mountain Sect had singled out to nurture. Her future was boundlessly bright, and she was only in her teens, with plenty of time left to cultivate. Yet she had resolutely chosen this most arduous and dangerous path.

This stirred a measure of admiration for her in Jing Jiu.

While Lin Wuzhi spoke, several stewards of the Cloud-Traveling Peak lineage came out of a building at the mountain's foot to meet them. They began registering Jing Jiu and the others and handing out Sword Tokens.

They very patiently explained to these newly admitted inner-sect disciples how to use the Sword Tokens, how to judge when they could no longer endure, and what to do if they encountered danger.

The disciples were somewhat startled, and their expressions grew graver as they listened. One could not help asking, "Are we supposed to climb the peak and take a sword today?"

For many of the disciples, including Jing Jiu, today was their first day in the inner sect. Were they already to face such a challenge?

Lin Wuzhi looked at them with a smile. "Have you only just learned that climbing the peak to take a sword is the first lesson of our Great Green Mountain?"

Suddenly, the Cloud-Traveling Peak stewards who were registering their names stopped what they were doing and looked in a certain direction.

When they saw the person approaching Sword Peak, their expressions abruptly turned solemn. They hurried out to stand on either side of the path and bowed with the utmost respect.

The disciples were somewhat surprised, wondering what important person had arrived, and turned to look back the way they had come.

It was an old man dressed in black, with a head of white hair and a withered face. His age was impossible to tell, and there seemed to be nothing remarkable about him.

Lin Wuzhi's expression also turned solemn. Clasping his hands before him, he bowed slightly and said slowly, "I respectfully see you off, Uncle-Master Mo."

The old man in black stopped. Seeing who it was, he cupped his hands, then glanced at Jing Jiu and the others and asked, "Are these this intake's inner-sect disciples?"

"A few more will be coming in later," Lin Wuzhi replied.

The old man in black looked the young disciples over, a happy smile appearing on his face. "Not bad, not bad. Good, good, good. Much stronger than we were back then."

With just a couple of glances, the old man in black had used his Sword Sense to perceive the disciples' cultivation states with perfect clarity.

The old man in black exchanged a few words with the disciples, asking where they came from and where they had cultivated as outer-sect disciples. His expression was gentle, his words full of encouragement. The disciples did not know who he was, but from the attitudes of Lin Wuzhi and the Cloud-Traveling Peak stewards, they guessed he must be someone of great importance. They dared not show any impatience and answered with the greatest care.

Lin Wuzhi stood quietly to one side and listened, neither interrupting nor urging him on.

Jing Jiu found it somewhat strange. Among the Green Mountain Nine Peaks, no sword master from any peak wore black.

He could not discern the old man's cultivation state at present, but he could clearly sense that the man's spirit was failing and his body was weak. He should be inferior to Lin Wuzhi.

Why did Lin Wuzhi treat this man with such respect?

Suddenly, something occurred to him.

Just then, the old man in black happened to look at him. He paused slightly and said, "What a fine-looking child."

Lin Wuzhi smiled. "Everyone knows he is good-looking. Only you, Uncle-Master, spend every day copying books on Shiyue Peak and never pay attention to such things."

The old man in black smiled, then looked at Jing Jiu and said earnestly, "Work hard from now on."

Jing Jiu did not answer him, but watched him quietly.

The old man in black found this somewhat strange.

The atmosphere had also become somewhat strange.

Several disciples frantically signaled to Jing Jiu with their eyes, but he seemed entirely unaware and continued watching the old man in black quietly.

Lin Wuzhi narrowed his eyes slightly and was about to reprimand Jing Jiu when the old man in black raised a hand to stop him. With a self-mocking smile, he turned toward Sword Peak.

"Leaving?"

Lin Wuzhi asked.

"Leaving."

The old man in black replied.

Suddenly, a voice rang out.

"How is your sword now?"

Jing Jiu asked, looking at the old man's retreating back.