Peachwood Sword

After Su Yao fell asleep, only a single faint oil lamp remained in the ruined temple.

A closer look showed that the lamp was held by a woodcutter with a resolute face and sharply defined features.

He looked at Su Yao, his eyes filled with memories.

He was just about to reach out and touch Su Yao when footsteps came from outside the ruined temple.

He paused, then turned to look out the door.

A voice rang out, strong and full:

"Senior, you're still the same as ever. Back when I had yet to attain the Dao, you toyed with me just like this. Now you're doing the same to the Dao Child of my Qixia Temple. How interesting."

Hearing the voice, he walked to the doorway and saw a middle-aged Daoist in purple robes, holding a white lotus lantern.

The Daoist wore a three-realms crown, with a peachwood sword tucked into his belt. He watched him quietly, and he watched the Daoist just as quietly.

After a long while, the Daoist before him finally spoke:

"You're always like this, Senior. When you're needed, there's no sign of you. When matters are about to settle down, you come out and stick your nose in."

After a pause, he continued:

"Back then, Qixia Temple had no True Lord, so I could let you bullying me pass. But now I'm still alive, and you're bullying my Qixia Temple's Dao Child like this. Isn't that going too far?"

At those words, his sharply defined face swiftly grew old and ugly, riddled with holes, yet a trace of joy appeared on it:

"Xicheng, you're finally willing to see me. I couldn't leave Mount Zhongnan, yet I didn't dare approach Qixia Temple, much less the place where the three Dao Ancestors preached in the past. I could only wander at the foot of the mountain. When Qixia was weak, I could naturally lure a few of its disciples into my belly."

He paused.

"Ever since Yun Zhongzi founded his school on this mountain, I've only failed twice. Once with you, and once..."

He glanced at Su Yao, who was still unconscious.

"With this boy. I thought I had him in the bag, but I never expected that I wouldn't be able to touch him. It seems he truly is favored by the Rainbow Clouds attainment."

The Daoist made no comment and looked at the aged figure.

"Sorry to trouble you, Senior, but please withdraw. Though I'm no match for you..."

The Daoist paused and touched the peachwood sword at his waist.

"Before I was trapped on this mountain, I had a premonition and sent many treasures from the grotto-heaven within my grotto-heaven to Qixia Mountain for Qizhenzi to keep. But I also kept a few treasures to protect myself."

He looked at the peachwood sword at the Daoist's waist, a trace of fear flashing through his clouded eyes.

"Long ago, Yun Zhongzi cut down a peach tree to make this sword and presented it to Di Xin. But Di Xin failed to recognize its worth and threw it outside the palace. Yun Zhongzi thought it a pity, so he picked it up and wore it at his side. This sword passed through the transition from Shang to Zhou, and later, when Yun Zhongzi attained the Dao, he elevated it further."

He pointed to the wounds on his face.

"Later, Yun Zhongzi used this sword to slash me, stab me, and humiliate me. Then he used Zhongnan's earth veins to imprison me. But he didn't expect the Zhou dynasty to collapse so quickly, and his restraints collapsed with it. By then, he had already gone beyond the heavens in search of the Dao."

"Not a moment passed when I wasn't thinking of revenge. But Qixia Temple has always had True Lords and immortals emerge from it, so I couldn't make my move. I could only lure a few disciples away to devour now and then. Then, eight thousand years ago, you tried to prove your Dao and offended Qing Chengzu. You also offended half of the three current leaders of the Profound Gate. The Second Master, leader of your Jade Pure One lineage, had no choice but to imprison you on this mountain. You escaped with your life under the protection of the Three Pure Ones. But when the mountain range shifted again, the formation weakened, and I could finally roam at the foot of Mount Zhongnan."

He licked the corners of his mouth.

"But I never expected you to fool even me. You laid the groundwork on the shores of the South Sea long ago, moving your many treasures and disciples to Qixia Mountain, which Yun Zhongzi had awakened by chance in the past. Otherwise, everyone in Qixia Temple but you would have ended up in my belly."

The Daoist sneered.

"Though I haven't left the mountain in eight thousand years, three thousand years ago, a Devil Lord emerged from the Dao lineage you established, Senior. But..."

The Daoist smiled pointedly.

"He was nearly knocked from his position by Qizhenzi, a Loose Immortal."

Then, paying him no further attention, he gripped the white lotus lantern in his left hand and drew the peachwood sword at his waist with his right. Without any unnecessary flourishes, he thrust it straight at him.

He was about to resist, but the next moment, rosy light appeared around him, and earthy yellow Wu Earth Qi trapped him. The peachwood sword plunged straight into his already ruined left eye.

Screaming, he struggled backward and pulled free of the peachwood sword, clutching his left eye.

"Xicheng, Xicheng! One day, I'll devour you and Qixia Temple. Then this Mount Zhongnan, along with the great formation trapping me, will cease to exist!"

With that, his figure vanished.

Only then did a trace of worry appear on the Daoist's formerly tranquil face.

He put away the peachwood sword and formed a Method Formula. Rays of rosy light lifted the unconscious Su Yao.

Then he turned and headed up Mount Zhongnan.

When he reached the mountain gate, he did not take Su Yao toward Qixia Temple. Instead, he went up a side path.

Without using Law Power, he walked on, step by step.

By the time he reached a small hill, the eastern sky had turned the pale white of a fish's belly. A thatched hut stood at the top, with a pond in front of it.

White lotuses bloomed throughout the pond. He tossed the white lotus lantern toward it, and it turned into a lotus and settled on the water.

He laid Su Yao flat in front of the hut.

Then he reached out and placed his hand on Su Yao's forehead.

At first, the Daoist seemed unconcerned. Then he looked puzzled, then alternately horrified, delighted, and disbelieving.

About a quarter of an hour later, he withdrew his hand, turned to face east, and formed a seal with both hands.

"Profound Pure Wondrous Land, within the East Pole Palace. Nine-colored lotus light, shine through the darkness. Great mercy, great vows, deliver countless beings far and wide. Extend your compassion and guide them; wisdom's sword cleaves the void. Sweet dew sprinkles all clean, karmic fire melts away. Spiritual light enters the body, Dao Qi endures forever!"

When he finished, his left hand continued to hold the seal while his right beckoned toward the white lotus pond. Two white lotuses, each as large as a serving bowl, appeared beside his right hand.

He gently closed his right hand, and the white lotuses flew toward Su Yao.

Once the two white lotuses landed on Su Yao, he formed a seal with both hands again.

"Supreme Unity, Primordial Unity, the Three Pure Ones decree.

The white lotus as token, the jade pond as mirror.

Cleanse the profound vision, reflect inward upon the spiritual court.

The three corpses subdued, the six desires hidden from sight.

Sun and moon join as one, water and fire meet.

The ethereal and corporeal souls at peace, the apertures open and the heart clear."

As he finished reciting the two Method Formulas, a wisp of white light appeared on the horizon, and a wisp of rosy light appeared at his fingertip. When the white light flew over and merged with the rosy light, he pointed at Su Yao.

"By decree!"

The two white lotuses slowly melted like water and seeped into Su Yao's body.

Once they had seeped entirely into Su Yao, he let out a long breath and stepped forward to check on him.

He thought to himself:

That old thing's methods aren't easy to undo. The strength he can now wield is growing more and more terrifying. If not for the formation left behind by the founding master, I would have fallen victim to him long ago.

Fortunately, the formation's core is in this thatched hut, protected by the lingering traces of the three Dao Ancestors.

As for what that old thing did to this boy, I don't have the ability to resolve it. I can only hold it off for now. It all depends on whether Qizhenzi can persuade Biyou Palace to help.

But I'm afraid the relationship between Biyou and Jade Void...

Then he looked toward the sky and sighed softly. After that, he paid Su Yao no further attention.

He went straight into the thatched hut.