Chapter 475: The Wordless Heavenly Tome

This was a booklet similar to the [Carefree Heart Sutra]—the same size, the same kind of pages. However, what shocked Zhang Xiaohua was that the entire booklet was pure white, without a single word on it.

Greatly surprised, Zhang Xiaohua looked up at Si Yakong.

Si Yakong smiled and said: “Nephew, take a look at the cover.”

Zhang Xiaohua closed the booklet, and sure enough, on the cover were three ancient characters: [Wordless Heavenly Tome].

Only, the character “Heaven” (天) was extraordinarily different—its strokes flew like dragons and danced like phoenixes, almost as if they were about to soar off the page. The other two characters, while also elegant in style, clearly lacked the same divine charm.

“Could it be that the other three characters were added later?” Zhang Xiaohua thought to himself.

With that thought, Zhang Xiaohua released his divine sense and carefully examined it.

Sure enough, there was a faint fluctuation of Yuan Qi coming from the booklet—it was a Immortal Dao restriction. However, at the spot where the “Heaven” character was, the restriction had a slight flaw, revealing the original character on the cover. The other three characters had clearly been written in later.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiaohua’s heart stirred—did he even need to guess? This was undoubtedly a secret manual recording some kind of Immortal Dao technique, perhaps even more precious than the [Carefree Heart Sutra].

Just then, Si Yakong explained: “Nephew Ren, this is a mysterious Wordless Heavenly Tome that has been passed down through generations of our Weapon Forging Sect’s Sect Masters. It has already been over a thousand years by the time it reached this old man, yet despite all my efforts, I’ve been unable to uncover its secrets. I heard your sect’s Sect Master and Elders are fond of ancient jade pendants, so they may have some means of unlocking the mysteries of this tome. I now gift this tome to your esteemed sect. If your seniors are able to decipher it, I ask only that they make a copy of the contents and send that copy back to our Weapon Forging Sect. What do you think?”

“I see…” Zhang Xiaohua scratched his head, somewhat unsure.

Zhang Xiaohua hesitated, and Si Yakong continued: “This old man understands that the [Wordless Heavenly Tome] is no small matter. If word of it were to leak out, it could bring enormous trouble to you, Nephew. But there’s no need for concern—those unrelated have already been cleared out by my Second Brother Nie. The ones remaining here will not utter a single word. This [Wordless Heavenly Tome] has been kept in our Weapon Forging Sect for over a thousand years without ever surfacing in the martial world. From this day on, none within the Yuli Alliance will mention it again.”

Zhang Xiaohua smiled. “Indeed, your sect’s predecessors had quite the sense of humor. Of all the characters they could’ve added, they just had to pick something so sensational. With the word ‘Heaven’ on it, if anyone caught wind of it, they’d surely assume it was some unparalleled martial manual—and wouldn’t hesitate to raid your Weapon Forging Sect for it.”

Si Yakong nodded. “You make a fair point, Nephew. But this book is shrouded in mystery, and the pages are utterly blank. Our elders only deduced the remaining two characters based on what little could be seen.”

“Hm.” Zhang Xiaohua gave a noncommittal response before asking, “And if my Big Dipper Sect’s seniors still can’t uncover its secrets?”

Si Yakong gave a bitter smile. “This tome has remained sealed in our Weapon Forging Sect for a thousand years without being deciphered. It’s better to entrust it to a reliable sect in hopes of some progress. Nephew, you clearly have a righteous heart—no doubt the result of guidance from your sect’s elders. Though I’ve never met your seniors, I have full confidence in the Big Dipper Sect. Rather than letting this tome gather dust in our halls, I’d rather have your elders attempt to comprehend it.”

After a brief pause, he added, “If this Heavenly Tome cannot be deciphered, then let it never return to the Weapon Forging Sect.”

The surrounding onlookers exchanged glances. Si Yakong was placing far too heavy a bet. Never mind what secrets the Wordless Heavenly Tome might contain—if the Big Dipper Sect simply claimed they couldn’t make sense of it, wouldn’t the tome be theirs for nothing?

Zhang Xiaohua was also moved. After a moment’s thought, he said: “Sect Master Si, since you trust my Big Dipper Sect so deeply, I’ll act on behalf of my elders just this once. Let’s set a time limit of twenty years. If my sect fails to unlock its secrets within that period, on that same day twenty years from now, the tome shall be returned to the Weapon Forging Sect. What do you think?”

Si Yakong’s wrinkled face broke into a wide, citrus-peel-like grin. He stepped forward, grasping Zhang Xiaohua’s hand. “Nephew! How… how can this old man ever thank your Big Dipper Sect? This is truly…”

Zhang Xiaohua, a bit embarrassed by the hand-holding, said: “It’s nothing, Sect Master Si. Everyone in the Big Dipper Sect, from top to bottom, conducts themselves with honesty and integrity. Even if my elders found out I made this decision on my own, they wouldn’t blame me—they’d likely commend me. Please rest assured.”

Of course, considering that the ethereal and elusive Big Dipper Sect currently had only this one fellow in sight—who was there to scold him?

Grateful beyond words, Si Yakong gestured toward the table full of items and said: “Nephew, no need to be polite—take everything on this table as a token of our Weapon Forging Sect’s goodwill.”

But Zhang Xiaohua firmly refused, repeatedly waving it off. “I won’t be returning to the Big Dipper Sect anytime soon. What use would I have for all this? I’ll just take those three banner poles. That’s more than enough.”

“Only the three banner poles?” Si Yakong found it rather odd, but after thinking about it, it made sense—Zhang Xiaohua would soon be heading to the Incense-Spreading Sect, and carrying too many things would be inconvenient. So he said: “Very well then, Nephew Ren. This old man will hold onto the rest for now. Once your matters at the  Incense-Spreading Sect are concluded, I’ll invite you and your sect’s elders to visit the Weapon Forging Sect together—by then, I’ll prepare more gifts.”

With that, he handed over the three pitch-black banner poles to Zhang Xiaohua. Seeing that the gift seemed a bit too light, he picked out a rare forging material from the many items on the table and passed it to Zhang Xiaohua. “This is a rare material used for crafting weapons. Take it, Nephew.”

Zhang Xiaohua no longer stood on ceremony and accepted it with a smile. Glancing around, he said: “Sect Master Si, if it’s not too much trouble, would you mind giving me that brocade pouch of yours as well? It seems like a fine item. I’m carrying a bundle with me anyway—this pouch would be perfect for storing my things.”

Si Yakong laughed. “Of course, of course. Nephew has a good eye. This brocade pouch is resistant to water and fire—ideal for storage.”

As he spoke, he picked the brocade pouch off the ground and handed it to Zhang Xiaohua.

Zhang Xiaohua took it with a smile and placed both the material and the three banner poles inside.

From the back, Nie Qianyu stepped forward sensibly with an ordinary sack and offered it up. Si Yakong took the sack, but still asked: “Nephew, are you really not going to take anything more? My brocade pouch has plenty of room. It’s practically empty with just those few items.”

Zhang Xiaohua shook his head. “I’ll pick out a few good things next time, when I visit the Weapon Forging Sect with my seniors.”

Si Yakong burst into hearty laughter, then swept the remaining items from the table into the sack and casually handed it to Tong Ba.

Valley Master Nie, seeing that Si Yakong’s wish had been fulfilled, was also pleased. He guided everyone back to the banquet area, summoned disciples to rearrange the feast, and they continued drinking and eating until the moon rose high and the stars grew sparse.

For the remainder of the banquet, Zhang Xiaohua refrained from drinking too much. As the hour grew late, he rose and took his leave. “Honored elders, the night grows deep—please forgive this junior for taking his leave first. Uncle Si, I hope you’ll stay in Spring Rebirth Valley for a few more days. Once I’ve written out that formation, I’ll bring it to you.”

Everyone rose to see him off. Nie Qianyu also took the opportunity to excuse herself from the banquet and walked Zhang Xiaohua out of the martial arena.

Naturally, Zhang Xiaohua wouldn’t allow Nie Qianyu to escort him all the way back to the inner valley. He simply arranged a time to meet her the next day, watched her enter the Peach Blossom Hermitage, then turned around and vanished into the alchemy room.

Lighting the lamp, Zhang Xiaohua sat cross-legged on the meditation mat and drew the Jade Water Sword from his robe. He had always believed that only internal force cultivated through martial arts could be channeled into a weapon and amplified by it. Never had he imagined that his own true qi could also be poured into the Jade Water Sword—and even produce something like sword-light.

Zhang Xiaohua released his divine sense to scan the surroundings but found nothing unusual. He then gripped the Jade Water Sword in his right hand and slowly began channeling his true qi into the short sword.

Back in the martial arena earlier, he hadn’t dared to go all out—he’d only released a mere tenth of his true qi when the sword began to show signs of abnormality, prompting him to stop immediately. Now that he was alone, it was the perfect time to test the sword’s true capabilities.

Sure enough, as he continued to infuse true qi, a blue radiance suddenly flashed from the Jade Water Sword. At the tip of the blade, a flickering sword-light emerged—its length uncertain, fluctuating constantly. Seeing this, Zhang Xiaohua was delighted. He increased the flow of true qi, and the sword-light grew even longer. When he had channeled sixty percent of his true qi, the combined length of the sword-light and the short sword itself had already surpassed that of a typical longsword by a noticeable margin.

When he tried to inject even more qi, the sword’s radiance began to flicker and destabilize—clearly it had reached its limit. If he forced more into it, the sword might very well collapse. So Zhang Xiaohua stabilized the flow at sixty percent and did not push further. Looking down at the weapon in his hand, he saw not a short sword, but a dazzling, radiant, and peerless longsword!

Zhang Xiaohua was quite satisfied with the result. He waved his right hand, casually drawing a few arcs of sword-flowers through the air. Then, his gaze landed on a stone table nearby, and a thought struck him. He raised his arm and gently sliced toward one corner of the table. A faint zi sound was heard, and the tip sheared cleanly through—the small stone piece dropped off without the slightest resistance.

Startled, Zhang Xiaohua quickly stepped closer to inspect it. The cut surface was incredibly smooth—far better than what his flying sword had achieved before. Watching the sword-light pulse in and out of the blade at his command, he sank into thought.

His flying sword was an artifact of the Immortal Dao, but wielding it in direct combat actually placed him at a disadvantage. Moreover, the fragmented sword art he had learned was designed to work with flying swords, and applying it to a regular longsword was inappropriate. Yet now, with this short sword in hand, despite its lacking length, the added sword-light made it even longer than most longswords. If he could find a refined sword technique in the future, it might not be inferior to either his flying sword or a regular longsword.

At that thought, Zhang Xiaohua’s mind drifted slightly. He recalled Si Yakong mentioning the Four Great Divine Swords of the martial world, each bearing a resounding name. Even this short sword had its own name: Jade Water Sword. But his own short sword and longsword didn’t have names at all.

“What should I name them?” Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

“This short sword relies on speed to prevail. Under the guidance of divine sense, it’s like a meteor streaking across the sky. To name it Meteor would be quite fitting… but ‘Meteor’ seems a little too common. That’s right—didn’t I already give this little sword to Little Meng? It would be best if the name included the character Meng—‘Dream’… hehe…”

As he thought this, a trace of sweetness unwittingly rose in Zhang Xiaohua’s heart. And at that very moment, Nie Qianyu’s expressive face—charming in both anger and joy—quietly surfaced in his mind!