The Great Martial Sects of the Realm

Compost Sword Immortal?

Yu Tunzhou froze, his eyes full of astonishment.

He still remembered their earlier meeting.

The girl had stood tall and graceful a meter behind Zhang Qinghe, clad in snow-white robes covered in cloud and water patterns. Her phoenix eyes seemed to hold autumn waters as she looked around, and she was clearly distracted, as though someone had dragged her there to bolster his courage and lend him support...

Yu Tunzhou had always had a good memory. Looking back now, the girl named Cao Jianjia had been like a clear moon, with delicate features and an even colder, more aloof bearing.

And now, this clear-moon maiden who would not even touch muck had been sent to grow vegetables and make compost...

At the thought, Yu Tunzhou's astonishment faded, replaced by gravity and solemnity.

Wouldn't this Cao woman hate him to death?

The two of them had originally had no deep-seated grudge. Zhang Qinghe had suffered the worst of it, while Cao Jianjia had seen things going badly and slipped away first.

But now, Cao Jianjia would probably be driven into a frenzy.

Yu Tunzhou silently put himself on guard. From now on, he had to watch out for this madwoman, who might go crazy at any moment!

Although Old Mo had said it was not yet time for everyone to decide the victor, a madwoman could not be judged by ordinary standards.

The town's maze of winding alleys immediately surfaced in his mind, along with several little-known, hidden paths leading straight to his mountain home.

Xie Linchuan watched his expression change and could not help feeling surprised. He gently waved his paper fan.

Why does Brother Yu look so worried? Shouldn't he find it funny?

He asked Yu Tunzhou what he was thinking about.

Yu Tunzhou described his worries and how he planned to vary his route back up the mountain from now on, lest Cao Jianjia ambush him on the way.

Xie Linchuan's paper fan stopped in midair. "..."

He did not know whether to say Yu Tunzhou was focused on the wrong thing or excessively inclined to anticipate trouble.

But on second thought, there was some reason for that worry.

Cao Jianjia's affair was destined to... no, it was already spreading at an astonishing speed, becoming a cautionary example for every household to warn its younger members.

At first glance, Zhang Qinghe seemed to have suffered the most, but the one who had actually lost the most was the Cao family's daughter. What she had lost was her reputation.

She had better make it out of the town alive and become an immortal seed candidate someday. Otherwise, she was destined to become a laughingstock for everyone to gossip about over tea and after meals.

Even if she did make it out of the town alive and climbed to greater heights on the Great Dao, her enemies might someday dig up this "old story" to unsettle her Dao heart.

At the thought, Xie Linchuan could not help shaking his head.

"I wonder what that senior from the Nanhua School was thinking, coming up with a method like that to train Cao Jianjia..."

In his view, it was much like what Granduncle-Master had done to "set Yu Tunzhou's heart right" earlier. If Cao Jianjia's Dao heart was anything less than firm and she could not hold on, breaking down first, then never mind becoming a sword immortal in the future-her martial path would end right there.

The method was rather too extreme.

"The Nanhua School?" Yu Tunzhou said. "I remember you came from Evergreen Mountain, Brother Xie?"

"That's right. Among the great martial sects of the realm, the Daoist lineages known as ancestral courts comprise three mountains and two sects, while the Buddhist School has three temples and one nunnery. The rest are all second-rate at best. Both my Evergreen Mountain and the Nanhua Sect are among them."

Speaking of his own sect, Xie Linchuan could not hide his pride. His tone was calm, but brimming with confidence.

Though he came from the Xie Household of the Northern Plains, he had entered Evergreen Mountain and won a place in this grotto-heaven entirely through his own abilities, not merely because of his family background.

"Could you explain in more detail, Brother Xie?"

Xie Linchuan nodded slightly. "There's nothing to conceal. The Daoist ancestral courts-the three mountains and two sects-are Evergreen Mountain, Shangqing Mountain, Floating Hill Mountain, the True Martial Sect, and the Nanhua Sect."

"As for the Buddhist School's three temples and one nunnery, they are Shaolin Temple, Vajra Chan Temple, Little Thunderclap Temple, and the Water Moon Nunnery, which is as elusive as a divine dragon that shows its head but never its tail."

"Only those nine can be called the great sects of the realm. Even if the others have a Dharma Form holding the fort, they still lack the foundations and can only settle for second-rate status."

Yu Tunzhou could not help asking, "Are all nine in the town?"

"Of course not. The town has many noble families, but few sects."

"The current divine dynasty bears the name Yan and rules the realm together with the Aristocratic Clans."

"Jixia Academy ranks the Aristocratic Clans of the realm, known as the nine surnames and thirty-six households. The rankings put power first and family standing second."

"Of the thirty-six Aristocratic Clans, the top four have foundations and strength enough to rival the great sects."

"The four great Aristocratic Clans stand apart from the sects and serve the imperial family."

Finally, Xie Linchuan said, "Only three of the Daoist ancestral courts have come to the town: Zhang Buyu of Floating Hill Mountain, plus Cao Jianjia and me. On the Buddhist School's side, I hear Little Thunderclap Temple and Vajra Chan Temple have also made arrangements here, but I haven't met disciples from either of them yet."

Yu Tunzhou murmured to himself, "That's still more than half..."

In just a few words, Xie Linchuan had given him a glimpse of the vast world beyond the town and its general state of affairs, even though he was still there.

"Oh, right." Xie Linchuan suddenly remembered something. "Floating Hill Mountain is famous for the Dao of Alchemy, but it claims to carry the Human Emperor's Dao lineage. You cultivate the Spark Instruction, so perhaps you can use that to get closer to them."

Yu Tunzhou nodded, but had no particular thoughts on the matter.

He did not think they would look at him differently because of a single Spark Instruction.

Xie Linchuan made a point of reminding him, "Brother Yu, have you started cultivating the Spark Instruction? Don't forget Granduncle-Master's warning. There will be a dispersal of destiny in less than a month."

"I already reached the entry level of the Spark Instruction last night." Yu Tunzhou hesitated, then asked, "Is True Intention especially important?"

Xie Linchuan fell silent for a moment, choosing his words before reassuring him. "It's all right. Even if you can't comprehend the Human Emperor's State of Mind back then, you can still work the Qi Ingestion method out to the seventh layer. It'll just be slower."

In his view, the greatest obstacle in the Spark Instruction lay in comprehending its True Intention.

And if Yu Tunzhou could not comprehend its True Intention, his cultivation was bound to be considerably slower than everyone else's.

Yu Tunzhou gathered his thoughts. "If someone mastered the full ten parts of the True Intention, would their cultivation speed improve significantly?"

Xie Linchuan nodded. "Naturally. Not just their cultivation speed-when they circulated the Qi Ingestion method, they could also bring out eleven or even twelve parts of its power."

Yu Tunzhou understood. It seemed that the harmony between his true heart and the Cultivation Method's True Intention had played no small part in how smoothly his cultivation had gone and how quickly he had produced internal Qi.

He did not tell Xie Linchuan about the change to the Spark Instruction's True Intention, because he had no way to explain it.

By comparison, he might as well have told Xie Linchuan that he had fully comprehended the Human Emperor's State of Mind and will from back then. That would have been easier to believe.

"Then, when cultivating the Qi Ingestion method with the full ten parts of its True Intention, are there any special effects? Something like inner vision?" Yu Tunzhou continued to seek confirmation.

"No. The Cultivation Method just circulates more smoothly and as you wish."

Yu Tunzhou understood. It seemed he really had entered a meditative state without realizing it, rather than using the Spark Instruction for inner vision.

Now it depended on tonight: whether he could reproduce that meditative state, rather than it being a one-off "accident."

He was now facing the same test as the disciples of the various households-

In twenty-eight days, the first dispersal of destiny that both Old Mo and Senior Zhang had emphasized would take place. Yu Tunzhou had no confidence he could work the Qi Ingestion method out to the seventh layer in that time.

According to Xie Linchuan, the young members of the various households in town were taught a Qi Ingestion method one week before entering the town.

That was also their first test: to work the Qi Ingestion method out to the seventh layer from nothing within five weeks.

Even for these carefully selected young members of the various households, that counted as a test, never mind that he had only four weeks.

Fortunately, the full ten parts of the True Intention and the meditative state should let him catch up with the others' progress as much as possible.

The arowana hanging beneath the eaves was also a help.

Xie Linchuan could fully understand Yu Tunzhou's urgency. He pondered for a moment and said:

"You need to enter a meditative state as soon as possible."

"In that state, both your control over your body and your sense of Qi improve significantly."

"Besides, if you want to take part in the dispersal of destiny a month from now, you must master entering a meditative state."

Yu Tunzhou was silent for a moment, then described the unusual state he had been in the previous night.

Xie Linchuan's expression immediately turned doubtful. "That sounds like inner vision. Did you already enter a meditative state last night?"

Yu Tunzhou shook his head gently and sighed. "I'm not sure either. I tried this morning, but I couldn't enter the same profound state."

"That does sound like a problem..."

Xie Linchuan frowned deeply. As far as he knew, once those who entered a meditative state on their own did so, it became almost instinctive. They did not encounter a situation like Yu Tunzhou's.

Unless it had merely been a coincidence.

Xie Linchuan thought for a moment, snapped his paper fan shut, and said without hesitation, "I'll stay at your place tonight. I can observe your condition then, and pay a visit to the two sages while I'm at it."

He was genuinely curious.

Someone his own age who had entered a meditative state on his own, without relying on a visualization method!

Granduncle-Master was right. Yu Tunzhou really was far too interesting.

"Stay the night?" Yu Tunzhou looked at him strangely. He did not refuse, but simply told him the truth. "Let's go take a look first. I don't think you'll be able to stand the conditions at my place."

Xie Linchuan said disdainfully, "Do you think I'm Cao Jianjia? With her as a warning, there won't be a second Cao Jianjia in this town from today onward."

Yu Tunzhou sighed. That was not good news for him. Were these people learning from experience and evolving that quickly?

"Oh, right." Xie Linchuan seemed to remember something else. His expression turned serious. "What are the two senior sages on the mountain like? Are they easy to get along with?"