Chapter 107: Broken And Then Rebuilt
Divine Sword Elder was buried in the back mountain of True Martial Mountain.
Ning Qi took out the Dragon Owl Sword and buried it together with Divine Sword Elder. This was Divine Sword Elder’s favorite sword during his lifetime. He lost it to Ning Qi in the previous ten-year agreement, and now it could be considered returned to its original owner. For Ning Qi, the Dragon Owl Sword was already useless to him.
Zhuang Chen gratefully called out, “Ninth Senior Brother.”
And then.
Zhuang Chen personally erected a tombstone for Divine Sword Elder.
He respectfully kowtowed several times.
Amidst the misfortune, there was great fortune: his Master had been able to pass away peacefully, and if he wanted, he could still come to visit.
Now, although Zhuang Chen’s gaze was filled with sorrow, it also contained determination. He remembered everything that happened that night, and he remembered the fierce appearance of his once kind and amiable Senior Brother. In his heart, he secretly vowed to seek justice for his Master.
Dragon Mountain Daoist sighed lightly and stroked Zhuang Chen’s head:
“Little Ten, from now on, True Martial Mountain will be your second home. This was also Divine Sword Brother’s home. With him here, you won’t be lonely.”
Zhuang Chen nodded vigorously:
“Yes, Master.”
Luo Wentian and the others all looked at Zhuang Chen with concern. For this extra Tenth Junior Brother, they all felt a share of pity and sympathy in their hearts.
“Little Ten, from now on, just stay at ease in True Martial Sect. If anyone dares to bully you, just come to your Senior Brothers for help to vent your anger!”
Looking at the many kind Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, a trace of warmth surged in Zhuang Chen’s heart.
Then, he felt waves of fatigue surging over him, and the whole person fainted dead away.
After such a long time of fleeing, plus suffering severe injuries, Zhuang Chen had been holding on solely by a thread of willpower. Now that Divine Sword Elder’s funeral affairs were handled, he had finally reached his limit.
The congregation was startled.
Dragon Mountain Daoist and Ning Qi carefully examined him.
Dragon Mountain Daoist first breathed a sigh of relief, then slightly frowned. The situation inside Zhuang Chen’s body was not good.
“What vicious power, it destroys the foundation and even shattered Little Ten’s Sword Bone inside. Surviving is no problem, but the key is whether he can cultivate in the future?”
The congregation was all shocked.
If he really couldn’t cultivate, for Zhuang Chen, it would likely be another huge blow.
Dragon Mountain Daoist looked at Ning Qi, and the others did the same. They all knew that Ning Qi was proficient in medical arts and pill way, perhaps he had a way.
Ning Qi said softly:
“We don’t know yet, we can only try. Put Tenth Junior Brother in the Seeker’s Courtyard. I’ll first stabilize his injuries.”
He had some confidence, but he couldn’t guarantee it now, and the occasion wasn’t right. He could only say it was fortunate that during the previous Heavenly Human Ceremony, he had carefully examined the situation of Zhuang Chen’s Innate Sword Bone and created the Innate Sword Body secret technique based on it.
He couldn’t say it now; the hope for Zhuang Chen’s Sword Bone to recover still depended on this secret technique.
The congregation quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
They understood Ning Qi and knew that since he hadn’t spoken definitively, it meant there was still hope.
Dragon Mountain Daoist had the disciples disperse to stand guard. Now the enemies were in the dark, and their exact strength was unknown. Although they learned from Divine Sword Elder’s mouth that no Heavenly Human Realm level experts had appeared, it was better to be cautious.
He himself followed Ning Qi back to the Seeker’s Courtyard.
“Little Nine, I always feel that the group who attacked Divine Sword Sect is somewhat similar to the group that exterminated Snow Plum Villa back then. Perhaps there is some connection between them,” Dragon Mountain Daoist said in a deep voice.
Some words earlier weren’t suitable to say in front of everyone.
Ning Qi nodded slightly:
“I have the same feeling. Blood Rain Tower might just be a smokescreen, a gold cicada shedding its shell.”
The two were really too similar: both were exterminated after discovering some kind of truth. If it could be confirmed that what Ning Qi’s father discovered back then was also a Blood Pool or something similar, it would almost be certain that the two were connected.
Dragon Mountain Daoist pondered for a moment and finally made up his mind:
“I’ll go down the mountain now and check around Divine Sword Sect. Perhaps there will be some traces left. Additionally, I’ll make some noise to let those people know I’ve left True Martial Sect.”
Ning Qi immediately understood Dragon Mountain Daoist’s idea.
As long as Dragon Mountain Daoist was still at True Martial Mountain, those in the shadows wouldn’t dare to attack. But if it was confirmed that Dragon Mountain Daoist was gone, the situation would be different.
In outsiders’ eyes.
True Martial Sect openly only had a few White Mist Realm True Disciples.
As for Heavenly Sword True Person, this old monster whose lifespan was nearing its end might not act for minor matters, or might not even always be at True Martial Mountain.
After all, there was a precedent: when Dragon Mountain Daoist was in secluded death retreat attempting to break through to Heavenly Human Realm, Iron Ridge Three Fiends and several Gang Yuan Realm experts had night assaulted True Martial Mountain, but there was never any report of Heavenly Sword True Person acting. The first time everyone knew of Heavenly Sword True Person acting was when Old Demon Lin came.
Ning Qi nodded and said:
“This method can be tried, perhaps it can draw the snake out of its hole. Master, go down the mountain with peace of mind. With me in the sect, and it will take some time to heal Tenth Junior Brother and revive his Sword Bone anyway.”
He had just checked the situation inside Zhuang Chen’s body, and it was indeed not good.
Now was the best time to revive the Sword Bone. If he went down the mountain now and revived Zhuang Chen’s Sword Bone after returning, it would likely be too late, and Zhuang Chen would become a cripple forever. So now was the best choice for Dragon Mountain Daoist to go down the mountain.
Dragon Mountain Daoist looked at the comatose Zhuang Chen and sighed:
“Little Ten is also a pitiful person. Little Nine, if you have confidence, do your best to revive his Sword Bone.”
Ning Qi said solemnly:
“I’ll do my best.”
He had always had a good impression of Zhuang Chen. Now that he had become his Junior Brother, he would pay even more attention. This was inheritance, just like when he first came up the mountain back then, when all the Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters cared for him.
Dragon Mountain Daoist departed.
Ning Qi turned his gaze to Zhuang Chen lying on the bed and instructed White Ape:
“Tian Sheng, go get gold-silver grass, phoenix tail flower, purple luo vine…”
He needed some medicines to stabilize Zhuang Chen’s injuries.
White Ape left lightly and nimbly, his gaze worried. Although he and Zhuang Chen had a small conflict at their first meeting, they got along pleasantly afterward. Zhuang Chen was one of the few who knew part of White Ape’s strength. Seeing Zhuang Chen in such a miserable state now, he was also somewhat angry.
Grind the medicinal juice and have White Ape feed it to Zhuang Chen.
Then several silver needles fell, swiftly darting and piercing various points on Zhuang Chen’s body surface.
Although Zhuang Chen was still in a coma, his originally pale face gradually improved. Such trauma was naturally no problem with Ning Qi’s medical arts, but the key was not these external injuries, but Zhuang Chen’s Sword Bone.
Ning Qi exhaled lightly, and strands of Gang Qi probed out, beginning to study the situation inside Zhuang Chen’s body even more carefully.
Moments later.
His eyes showed some surprise.
He discovered.
After the Innate Sword Bone in Zhuang Chen’s body shattered, some of its fluctuations became even more pronounced, much more obvious than when he probed before. Ning Qi almost instantly memorized these special fluctuations and then compared them one by one with the Innate Sword Body he had created.
He immediately discovered that the Innate Sword Body he had created earlier still had quite a few flaws.
This was not hard to understand. After all, Ning Qi’s research on White Ape and Zhuang Chen had only been superficial, and the power essence was insufficient to support deeper exploration. Now it was just an accident that revealed part of its essence.
“Moreover, I didn’t notice it during the rough check earlier, but now looking closely, it seems Little Ten’s Sword Bone inside is actively aggregating?”
This was somewhat miraculous.
But Ning Qi also discovered that this active aggregation was only a trend, not strong, and there was great resistance. Without strong external force interference, it was nine out of ten likely to fail.
“But it’s much better than I expected before. By studying these fluctuations and improving the Innate Sword Body secret technique, using reverse resonance to promote Sword Bone aggregation, the feasibility is very high.”
“Moreover, after the Sword Bone recombines this time, Little Ten might be able to further excavate the potential of the Sword Bone.”
“In a sense, this is breaking and then establishing. It’s just that this price is a bit too heavy.”
Looking at Zhuang Chen who was still frowning in his sleep, Ning Qi sighed lightly.
…
Dragon Mountain Daoist instructed the various disciples to remain vigilant at all times during this period, then went down the mountain, heading straight to the ruins of Divine Sword Sect. He wanted to start investigating from there to see if that group had left any traces.
Furthermore, the extermination of Divine Sword Sect would also stir up a storm in Qingzhou.
Although the current Great Yan Dynasty was somewhat chaotic, the annihilation of a first-class power with a Core Elixir Realm expert would still attract considerable attention.
Dragon Mountain Daoist did not deliberately conceal his whereabouts.
Three days later.
The news of Divine Sword Sect’s annihilation gradually spread, and Dragon Mountain Daoist’s involvement in helping his old friend track the culprits also drew much attention.
In a small courtyard in a county city near True Martial Sect that no one noticed, in a secret chamber, several figures gathered here.
Each had a powerful aura, all Core Elixir Realm.
If someone knew, they would be utterly shocked, unable to imagine that such an ordinary small town harbored so many Core Elixir Realm experts.
The leader spoke:
“Innate Sword Bone is an excellent great medicine for cultivating Blood King Gu. If we can bring it back, it will be great merit. Now that Dragon Mountain True Person is not at True Martial Sect, perhaps this is our opportunity.”
He scanned the people around him, his gaze carrying some pressure.
The scar-faced middle-aged man said in a deep voice:
“Although Dragon Mountain True Person is away, True Martial Sect still has the even more powerful Heavenly Sword True Person!”
Another charming woman chimed in:
“That’s right, Heavenly Sword True Person is a Heavenly Human Ranking level expert. Even if we all go together, it would just be a wave of his hand.”
The leader shook his head:
“No, Heavenly Sword True Person may not care about such a small matter. I’ve studied his two instances of action, both were during Heavenly Human Realm assaults, only when True Martial Sect’s survival was at stake would he act. Previously, when Dragon Mountain True Person was in secluded death retreat attempting to break through to Heavenly Human Realm, several Gang Yuan Realm experts came up the mountain to assault, but Heavenly Sword True Person was not seen acting.”
“This time our target is only the Innate Sword Bone, without harming others, so it may not alarm Heavenly Sword True Person.”
“True Martial Sect besides Dragon Mountain True Person and Heavenly Sword True Person only has a few White Mist Realm True Disciples. We only need one Core Elixir Realm to easily take away the Innate Sword Bone. This would also be a deterrent to Dragon Mountain True Person, making him fearful.”
The others fell silent, then one said:
“But in the end, this is just your guess. What if we really encounter Heavenly Sword True Person acting? If captured by him, it would ruin the big plan instead.”
The leader was prepared. He took out a pill sealed with wax and said:
“This is Heaven Sensing Gu. Swallow it. If unusual Heaven and Earth Power fluctuations appear nearby, it will immediately sense and shatter, releasing deadly poison to break locks and shackles. At that time, don’t hesitate at all—shatter your Core Elixir and commit suicide to avoid falling into enemy hands.”
Everyone’s expressions tightened.
They weren’t afraid, but they now understood that the importance of that Innate Sword Bone even surpassed a Core Elixir Realm expert. They were willing to use a Core Elixir Realm life as the price for this probe. Presumably, the leader had received instructions from above in the past few days.
“Who will go?” Someone asked the question everyone cared about.
The leader scanned the crowd, finally exhaling deeply and said:
“Old rules, draw lots.”
