Chapter 476 – The Dreamchaser Sword and the Prajna Heavy Sword

  “Hm, Dreamchaser! To chase after dreams with such swiftness—wouldn’t that be even faster than a meteor? Moreover, it also carries the meaning of chasing after Little Meng… Yes, it’s this!”

  Zhang Xiaohua gave his little sword an exceedingly romantic name—Dreamchaser. His spirits soared at once, and while the iron was still hot, he set about naming the heavy and unsightly longsword as well. This sword was known for its weight, so of course, the name must reflect that. At that moment, the words “Immovable Bright King” suddenly surfaced in Zhang Xiaohua’s mind. “Immovable Heavy Sword”? “Bright King Sword”? Somehow, neither felt quite right.

  After pondering for a while, Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes lit up as a new name came to him—Prajna, the supreme wisdom that transcends all!

  This longsword relied on its sheer weight to overcome opponents—it was the very epitome of great skill appearing clumsy. In the face of such weight, all techniques and all cunning were no more than paper tigers. It was a weapon that existed beyond all wisdom.

  Yes, Prajna Heavy Sword—that was the one!

  In high spirits, Zhang Xiaohua held the ten-thousand-jin Prajna Heavy Sword in his left hand, and in his right, the Jade Water Sword, its verdant sword light endlessly retracting and extending. He loved both so dearly that he couldn’t bear to part with either. As his mind stirred, the Dreamchaser flew into the air within the pill room. For a moment, Zhang Xiaohua felt a grand heroic ambition, as though he were contending with all the heroes under heaven!

  After admiring them for a while, Zhang Xiaohua stowed both the Dreamchaser and the Jade Water Sword into his money pouch, then took out the three flagpoles he had just obtained from Sect Master Si Yakong. Feeling the coolness as the poles entered his hands, and sensing the faint fluctuations of Yuan Qi within, Zhang Xiaohua’s lips curved into a smile. These were the only items among those Sect Master Si had tossed onto the table that gave off any sort of fluctuation—how could Zhang Xiaohua not choose them?

  Looking at the three flagpoles, Zhang Xiaohua naturally thought of the Three Talents Formation used by the Auspicious Trio. Wasn’t that also composed of three formation flags? In the Immortal cultivation world, the Three Talents Gate Formation wasn’t particularly rare— even the Great Evolution Five Elements Formation surpassed it by a measure. Surely, back in ancient times, many sects must have known how to set up this Three Talents Gate Formation, so it wasn’t too strange that the Weapon Forging Sect would produce three such flags.

  However, having only the three poles was far from enough—where were the flags that were supposed to go on them?

  Without hesitation, Zhang Xiaohua lifted the brocade pouch he’d obtained from Sect Master Si. After placing the rare refining materials inside into his money pouch, he turned the pouch over and began inspecting it carefully. Then, he drew his Jade Water Sword and, under the lamplight, used its tip to probe and pick at the brocade pouch. After a while, three pieces of dark cloth—each larger than a palm—were sliced off from the pouch.

  Zhang Xiaohua tossed aside the now-ragged pouch, its three gaping holes exposed, and looked happily at the three triangular pieces of fabric in his hand. He had no idea what material they were made of, but they emitted fluctuations of Yuan Qi. Weren’t these the very flags for those poles?

  No wonder Sect Master Si Yakong couldn’t remember where he’d placed the flag cloths. Turns out someone had mistaken them for scraps and used them to patch the brocade pouch! If not for Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense detecting a faint fluctuation from the pouch lying on the ground, who would have ever discovered this?

  With his left hand, Zhang Xiaohua picked up a flagpole, and with his right, a flag face. Looking at the seamless match between the two, he immediately understood—the small flags must have exhausted their Yuan Qi, which was why someone from the Weapon Forging Sect had been able to tear the flags from the poles. Now, to reattach the flag faces was not something mere sewing could accomplish. Only by mastering the refining method of the Gate Formation Flags could the three small flags be successfully reforged.

  Unfortunately, the [General Principles of Artifact Refinement] only contained the fundamentals and common methods of refining. These seemingly simple formation flags, though not rare, were not covered at all. All Zhang Xiaohua could do was look at the flags and sigh. Just then, a thought occurred to him—wasn’t the prize from tonight’s strength contest with Tong Ba still tucked in his robes? Could it perhaps contain a refining method?

  Still, Zhang Xiaohua didn’t hold out much hope. These small flags used in the Three Talents Gate Formation were products of Immortal Dao refining. The current Weapon Forging Sect, at best, only employed martial techniques—it was highly unlikely any such record would exist.

  Sure enough, after stowing all the other items into his money pouch, Zhang Xiaohua retrieved the small booklet. It detailed only the current refining methods used by the Weapon Forging Sect. While the techniques and methods inside were certainly ingenious—and many were new to Zhang Xiaohua—they were completely unsuitable for refining the small flags. The idea was nothing more than a fantasy.

  Zhang Xiaohua sighed and placed the booklet on the table. It seemed his last hope now lay with the Wordless Heavenly Book. However, though the book’s cover had already been punctured with a small hole, the restriction within remained formidable. It was not something Zhang Xiaohua could break through at present. The Dreamchaser Sword might be able to pierce the restriction, but the contents inside were pages—if anything went awry in the process and the pages or their contents were damaged, not only would Zhang Xiaohua fail to obtain the full contents of the Heavenly Book, he would also have no way of explaining it to the Weapon Forging Sect twenty years down the line.

Thus, after a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xiaohua decided it was best to thoroughly study the Artifact Forging Sect’s booklet first, and only later, when the time was right, carefully consider how to break the restriction on the Heavenly Book.

  It was already getting late. After taking stock of his gains, Zhang Xiaohua finally sat cross-legged and began his routine cultivation. Of course, before that, he didn’t forget to seal off the pill room with a formation.

    While Zhang Xiaohua was cultivating, in the outer valley of Spring Rebirth Valley—the same place where the heads of the Yuli Alliance had earlier held their council—the few of them were once again seated in their respective places, sipping fragrant tea as they resumed their discussion.

  Valley Master Nie was the first to speak. “Brother Si, today you were a little too reckless. At such a critical moment, you really should’ve discussed things with me first. We could’ve let Little Yu sound out his attitude beforehand. If it didn’t work, then we could think of another way. And if Young Hero Ren agreed, then it wouldn’t be too late to proceed.”

  Si Yakong cupped his hands and said: “Second Brother Nie, it’s all this old brother’s fault. I’ll apologize right here and now for not informing you all ahead of time. But you don’t understand—I’ve turned over countless possibilities in my mind these past days, all because I was afraid Young Hero Ren would reject us. That’s why I had no choice but to take the risk. Just think—if he had already refused Little Yu earlier, how would you have me broach the topic again?”

  Zhen Xuan said: “Fortunately, this Ren Xiaoyao is truly magnanimous. Such a wondrous formation, and yet he was willing to share it so openly. I really don’t know how the Big Dipper Sect trains its disciples.”

  Ying Zhezhu laughed and added: “It’s not like the Big Dipper Sect came out at a loss. Just look at all those things he got in return.”

  Ma Fuhu also said in astonishment: “Brother Si, giving him the Jade Water Sword is one thing, but that Wordless Heavenly Book is a priceless treasure! You’ve never even mentioned it to us before, and now you’ve just handed it over like that? Isn’t that giving them too sweet a deal?”

  The others, hearing this, all turned to look at Si Yakong.

  Si Yakong took a sip of tea, then gave a bitter smile. “Wordless Heavenly Book, Wordless Heavenly Book—just hearing the name is enough to know it’s a disaster in the making. How could I dare reveal even a hint of it? Don’t forget what happened with the Piaomiao Sect of Pingyang City. That sect had endured for ten thousand years—and all because of a martial arts manual, it was annihilated by the combined forces of the Incense-Spreading Sect, the Dalin Temple, and the Heaven’s Way Alliance. If they ever found out that our Weapon Forging Sect possesses a Wordless Heavenly Book, even if no martial arts were truly recorded inside, wouldn’t they come charging in anyway? Any one of those three sects alone could erase our Weapon Forging Sect without breaking a sweat.”

  Everyone nodded repeatedly in agreement.

  Si Yakong continued, “This Wordless Heavenly Book has been with our sect for over a thousand years. Only the successive sect masters have known about it. But throughout all these years, no one has ever managed to comprehend its secrets. We don’t even know what it truly contains. It’s been stuck in my mind day and night—like a fishbone in the throat, making it hard to eat or sleep. I’ve always feared the day its secret might leak and bring calamity down on the sect. So just now, in that flash of a moment, I thought: if we’re going to pay a great price to obtain a formation, why not offer something that can truly shake the heart? This Heavenly Book may be a vast treasure mountain, but if we can’t find the path to climb it, then it remains nothing more than a dream.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement—except for Valley Master Nie, who looked somewhat despondent.

  Indeed. You’ve given away this burning treasure mountain as a great favor to the Big Dipper Sect, even promising to share it with them. But at the same time, you’ve shifted the tremendous risk onto their shoulders. During these twenty years before the Wordless Heavenly Book is to be returned, the Big Dipper Sect must bear the danger of the secret being discovered by other sects in the martial world. Moreover, if twenty years later they fail to return it, and the Weapon Forging Sect leaks even the slightest word, wouldn’t the Big Dipper Sect immediately become the target of all sides?

  Of course, Valley Master Nie still trusted Si Yakong’s character—perhaps he wouldn’t do such a thing. But that didn’t mean others in the Weapon Forging Sect wouldn’t have such thoughts. Still, in a flash, Valley Master Nie understood Si Yakong’s true intention.

  In this world, there’s no such thing as a free meal. If the Big Dipper Sect didn’t have the strength, they shouldn’t take on something so dangerous. Now that they’ve heard the frightening name of this “Heavenly Book” and still chosen to accept it—hoping to gain the martial secrets within—then they must also bear the accompanying risk. After all, where there’s profit, there’s always danger.

  At the same time, Valley Master Nie also came to grasp the deeper meaning behind Zhang Xiaohua’s promise to return the Wordless Heavenly Book in twenty years.

  Looking at Si Yakong’s somewhat pleased expression, and then at the faint glimmers of schadenfreude on the other elders’ faces, Valley Master Nie couldn’t help but feel a tinge of melancholy in his heart.

  “Ah… this is the jianghu! For all the affection and warmth it may contain, there is no shortage of…” Valley Master Nie couldn’t bear to continue the thought.

  The night passed without incident. The next morning, Zhang Xiaohua rose as usual. After completing a routine round of the Big Dipper Divine Fist, he was just about to conclude his practice when a sudden impulse struck him—on a whim, he ran through the fist technique once more.

  Back in the early months of training, Zhang Xiaohua could only guide nine streams of hot and cold energy through his body to temper his bones. He knew that was his limit and had never tried pushing further. But in the past few days, he had accumulated enough foundation and suddenly broken through to the peak of the Qi Refining early stage—his cultivation had advanced greatly. Now that he tried once more, an unexpected result appeared: a tenth stream of cold energy actually arose from his toes!

  Following the movement of the Big Dipper Divine Fist, that tenth round of cold energy began tempering every bone in his body.

  The Big Dipper Divine Fist had advanced again!

  As for what level it had reached now, Zhang Xiaohua no longer bothered to count. As long as cold energy continued to temper his bones, what did it matter what stage it was? Moreover, Zhang Xiaohua secretly resolved that from now on, after his daily bone-tempering, he would add an extra round of the Big Dipper Divine Fist—lest he miss another opportunity for advancement.

  The eleventh cycle of the Big Dipper Divine Fist did not produce any cold energy, but Zhang Xiaohua paid it no mind. After concluding his form, he returned to the pill room and resumed studying the Rabbit Talisman. With more and more restrictions he needed to break, if he didn’t improve his skill in breaking formations, he might very well delay something important.