Chapter 132
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
Piles of magical artifacts, ancient tomes, and porcelain bottles of pills slid down now and then, letting out soft thuds and clinks.
“Master, that pearl in your hand, can it heal your injuries?”
“This is for your master—don’t look!”
From one side of the small mountain of treasures and scriptures, the scholarly youth called out, while on the other side, the Toad Daoist instinctively clutched the pearl tighter beneath his webbed hands. He quickly shuffled over beside the gourd, turned his back to his disciple, and carefully sat down. Still uneasy, he tilted his head ever so slightly to steal a glance.
“All those things over there are yours—pills, techniques, magic artifacts. They’re of no further use to your master. Take whatever you want—but not this one.”
With that, he gave a casual wave of his webbed hand.
“All right, all right. Stop bothering your master.”
On the other side of the “small mountain”, seeing his master like this, Lu Liangsheng sensibly refrained from asking more. He crouched down among the trove of artifacts and tomes, picked up a porcelain bottle, and gave it a shake. It rattled and clanged inside. He poured out a few apricot-yellow pills and gave them a sniff—it smelled like dried tangerine peel.
The scholar glanced over at the small hunched back fiddling with the pearl.
“Could it be Master’s just using them to whet his appetite…”
Setting that bottle of pills aside, he continued sifting through the pile. There was still a great deal left. Lu Liangsheng sorted through it idly, most of it pertaining to medicinal herbs. Since he had nothing else to do, he began categorizing them.
After all, there were simply too many things. He could only pick out the ones that might actually be useful to him: [Refining and Forging Dao], [Sword Control], [Five Elements Daoist Arts]…
Hm?
He picked up a book, and a grin suddenly formed on his face—it was actually a text on illusion arts.
“[Spirit Replication Incantation]… the name sounds kinda impressive.”
But upon turning the page, he found it contained no standalone spells. Instead, it built upon the foundation that the cultivator already knew illusion arts, expanding and duplicating their effects to cover a broader area.
“Not bad, being able to affect a wider range is useful too.”
Lu Liangsheng gave the cover of the book a pat before setting it aside. As for the other manuals—such as Sword Control—it just so happened there were a few flying swords here as well. He flicked a finger against the thin blade of one, and it let out a soft hum. The spiritual energy imbued within was faint—at best, sharper than the weapons wielded by martial artists of the mundane world… or so he thought.
“Five Elements Daoist Arts… hmm… let’s have Old Sun study this one.”
There were also some miraculous pills among the collection, though none of them were labeled with their effects. He figured he’d ask the Toad Daoist about them when the old fellow had some free time. After all, if there were any that could prolong life, he’d want to keep them for his parents and younger sister.
It was true that cultivators enjoyed long lifespans, but he was no solitary wanderer. Watching one’s family grow old, fall ill, and pass on while he remained—such was its own form of torment.
The thrill of clearing out the “treasure mountain” slowly wore off. The scholar stood up, stretched lazily, and pulled out the Sword Control manual for a look. As it turned out, it wasn’t a collection of sword moves either. Much like the Spirit Replication Incantation, it relied on the practitioner’s existing swordsmanship, allowing them to remotely control flying weapons with their will.
“So that means I could command Veiled Moon Sword from afar and unleash the full Myriad Techniques Sword Intent?”
Leafing through the book, he followed the instructions and began channeling his energy through joined fingers as described. Walking over to the cave’s entrance, he reached out and opened the stone door.
Boom!
The stone gate toppled forward with a crash. Outside, the old donkey munching on grass snapped its ears straight up in shock, its swaying tail frozen midair, a clump of grass caught still in its unmoving mouth as it stared at the scholar within.
“Draw!”
A moment later, Lu Liangsheng flicked his two fingers upward. From the bookshelf strapped to the donkey’s back, the Veiled Moon Sword gave a faint hum and trembled… but didn’t budge an inch.
Uh…
Wrong technique?
Lu Liangsheng withdrew his energy and turned his gaze back to the book. Calming himself, he began to read once more—just as he had with his classical studies. After all, the one who had penned [Sword Control] had surely hoped others might learn from it. Though the writing was dense and arcane, it wasn’t beyond comprehension.
Huu…
He closed the book and let out a long breath. Shutting his eyes, he activated the Heavens and Earth Righteous Path. In that instant, his wide robes flared open. With a sweeping motion, he gave the command:
“Draw——!”
Clang! A long, metallic chime rang out—a cold flash of steel shot from the mouth of the scabbard and soared into the air.
A mountain wind swept past, whipping the scholar’s robes into flight. The dying sunlight cast a gentle glow on his handsome side profile. Gazing up at the Veiled Moon Sword singing in the sky, he looked for all the world like a blue-robed sword immortal, facing the firmament alone.
The next moment—
Lu Liangsheng opened his eyes, raised two fingers, and gave a command. The Veiled Moon Sword slashed sideways through the air and dove straight down, shua!—tearing clean through an old tree beyond the cliff. Branches and leaves tore apart with a brittle rustle as the sword left a trail of afterimages behind it, flying far beyond the mountain ridge. And with the scholar’s distant gesture, it flew onward—like a lone hawk, bathed in the last red hues of sunset, ascending into the sky.
“Return!”
His robe sleeve flared as he brought two fingers to his chest and shoulder. Under the setting sun, the Veiled Moon Sword, which had nearly reached the clouds, let out a soft chime as it began its descent.
From afar, a flock of birds came sweeping across the sky—whoosh—a black shadow shot through their midst, startling them into a panicked scatter. A few feathers drifted gently on the breeze in its wake.
Bang!
The sword point struck the ground in front of the scholar, embedding itself with a thud. The blade still trembled faintly, as if in excitement. In the past, Lu Liangsheng could guide objects to his hand with his energy, but it had never felt as fluid, as natural, as with the technique from Sword Control.
“I wonder which senior wrote this manual. Though my master collected it, and I’ve now learned the technique through him, if I ever meet its original creator, I must express my gratitude.”
Like a child newly gifted a toy, Lu Liangsheng couldn’t help his excitement at having just learned this method of controlling swords. With the Veiled Moon Sword in hand, he returned to the cave, eyes naturally drifting toward the other flying swords lying on the floor.
…The book claimed that, with practice—or deeper cultivation—one could control more at once.
Following the same state of mind as before, Lu Liangsheng sat cross-legged to the side. With a hook of his two fingers, the swords on the ground began to quiver, lightly knocking against the floor with a series of clang, clang sounds.
Then—
A sudden surge of chaotic spiritual energy burst within him. The swords that had been trying to rise collapsed back to the ground with a loud thud. One of them, spinning out of control, shot off to the side and smashed into the heap of so-called “treasures.”
Bang!
Crash—!
The tip of the sword struck a few heavy items on top, sending several books and porcelain bottles flying. The blade itself bent from the impact, then rebounded and flipped high into the air, its momentum carrying it toward a figure whose back was currently turned.
“Master, watch out!” Lu Liangsheng shouted.
“…What calls for your master’s attention?”
The Toad Daoist paused his suction on the beaded webbing of his frog paw, opened his mouth to respond—but before he could turn his head, a whirling flying sword struck.
…The hilt slammed into the back of his skull.
His bulging toad eyes instantly bulged even farther. His already-gaping frog mouth was knocked wider still, and just as his long tongue snapped out, his head slumped forward…
“Urgh.”
“Master?!”
On the other side, Lu Liangsheng kicked aside a few obstructing magical tools and books and charged forward. Across his field of vision, the Toad Daoist—still facing away with head lowered—was propping himself up from the ground and slowly rising to his feet.
His head and neck had become round and swollen, several times larger than his body. With trembling arms, he slowly raised one hand and forced out a strained voice:
“Wretched… disciple…”
His squat little body lost its balance and thudded forward, slamming into the floor, webbed hand smacking loudly against the ground.
“Quickly… help your Master up… the bead’s stuck in my throat…”
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
Orluros’s Vault of Secrets: If you liked the chapter feel free to donate 🙂 and if you find any errors in the translation please mention them in the comments here or in discord