Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 748 Unsheathe the Sword for My Lord (Part 1)

When Wen Suo opened his slightly closed eyes, his aged face revealed a pair of clear, childlike eyes.

He paused his sword-tapping motion and looked at Shikao: "How do you weave a sword?"

Luwei rose and bowed respectfully, but his words caused a stir of surprise in the garden: "I have long heard of the extraordinary name of Yunlang Heart Sword [Mirror], but it is a pity that I have never had the chance to see it. Senior, since you control the world and also wield this sword, you must be able to reflect the fate of yourself. In that case, we juniors can solve the problem of 'I cannot overcome myself'."

Qunfei clapped his hands lightly and praised with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Lu, wonderful!"

Qiusi shook his head, then frowned in thought, without saying a word.

Pei Ye turned to look at Li Tishui.

Li Tishui said, “'I' am within 'me,' so naturally it is difficult to defeat 'me.' He wants to ask where to go, taking heaven and earth as the outside and the [mirror] as the inside, thus imprinting a 'me.' This 'me' must have the same intuition as the original person, and the sword of destiny cannot defeat it.”

Pei Ye was surprised and slowly nodded: "So miraculous."

Li Tishui said, "This junior from Dongting has reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship and seems to be well-versed in the swordsmanship of various schools. Ranking him second is well-deserved. I was not this good when I was young."

Pei Ye immediately tilted his head, his eyes shifting slightly: "Where did you rank when you were young, senior?"

Li Tishui didn't take the bait, laughing, "We belong to a small, unrefined sect, and we're not even on the list."

"You're too modest, senior. You must have been incredibly skilled in your youth, surely defeating many formidable opponents?"

Li Tishui nodded: "Ying Suyu, Yue Muzhou."

The person on the stage seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding calmly, "Alright. However, the Divine Capital is under the supervision of the Immortal Platform Master, so we must borrow it from him this time."

Without another word, he raised a hand as withered as a cypress tree, closed his eyes, and gripped the sword hilt tightly with his five fingers.

In reality, only a few people could see the sword being drawn from its sheath, but in an instant, everyone in the garden saw it so vividly... The sword slid out of its sheath, just like a new mirror reflecting the blue sky and light clouds.

Heaven and earth are turned upside down.

He released the sword hilt, and the half-drawn sword rested on his lap. It was as if nothing had happened; it was still a clear morning, with a gentle breeze, the warbling of orioles mingling with the fragrance of flowers, and everything in his field of vision remained as clear as ever.

The garden fell silent for a few moments, people looking at each other in bewilderment, until suddenly someone looked at the pond and let out a soft cry.

Across from Ning Shuhong, who stood holding a sword on the pond, rose a colorless figure that looked exactly like her.

Neither of them had a reflection at their feet.

Exclamations and discussions erupted in the garden. Not to mention the many minor sects, even the true disciples of the Thirty-Three Swords Sect could not easily witness such a scene.

Since Ning Shuhong started speaking, many people in the garden could no longer understand what the Six Seats were discussing. Now, this scene was even more like a dream. Many people have seen the most magical and beautiful sword, the Sword of Intent. But whenever one is drawn into the Sword of Intent, one can often feel the deep emotions of the swordsman. It is like reading a poem or listening to a song, becoming so engrossed in it that one cannot extricate oneself.

But now everything seems unchanged; everyone is clear-headed, quick-witted, and conversing with those around them without any apparent disturbance. And yet, this miraculous scene unfolds before our eyes.

Some even suspected it was the magic of a sorcerer who conjured such a figure with water.

Shikao bowed deeply and said, "Thank you, senior."

He turned to look at the pond and laughed, "Master Ning, why don't you try it now? Can you defeat it without using your life force to control the sword?"

Ning Shuhong had no time to look away. She stared intently at the gray figure before her, her whole body tense, and murmured, "Lu Zhenchuan, this..."

For the first time in her life, Ning Shuhong was at a loss as to how to draw her sword. Even when facing Pei Ye and Yang Zhenbing in swordplay, she had the courage to take the initiative. But at this moment, the dilemma of "I cannot defeat myself" was perfectly demonstrated. This swordswoman, who had entrusted her life to her sword since childhood, could not find the slightest opening to strike!

She pursed her lips, gripped her sword tightly, and a sharp sword technique suddenly arose. Just now, she had used this sword technique to defeat five masters of different backgrounds, each of whom was quite famous in the capital today. But at this moment, an equally sharp sword came straight at her, breaking her sword technique in one strike, and was heading straight for her throat.

The gray figure was both fast and accurate, as if it shared the same thought with her.

With the sword blade pressed against his face, two thoughts arose in Ning Shuhong's mind in an instant.

Firstly, following the intuition she had believed in for over a decade, she could easily disarm this sword, just as easily as it had disarmed her. But at the same time, she also clearly foresaw that the moment this sword was used, the gray shadow would pierce its most vulnerable point once again.

Secondly, she abandoned the pillar she relied on, abandoned the path that was so close at hand, and judged the situation based on her own ideas... this sword strike.

Ning Shuhong stifled her own pent-up emotions. She recognized Gray Shadow's sword strike... it was the third move, and she had to use it—no, it was too late!

With the blade pressed against his throat, Ning Shuhong wanted to unleash his keen instincts again, but the momentum of the first half of the sword strike was too great to be dispelled in time, and the real Ning Shuhong was simply too strong.

With a crisp clang, Ning Shuhong staggered and fell, her longsword slipping from her hand and heading towards a kite pierced by a sharp weapon. The gray shadow's longsword pierced her chest, but no blood flowed.

The gray shadow gradually faded away.

The garden was momentarily stunned. Luwei and Qunfei were also surprised and then pondered. No one expected that Ning Shuhong, who had just been so fearless, would be so at a loss, just like a beginner in swordsmanship.

Ning Shuhong left the pond, raised her hand, and the long sword flew back into her hand. Almost without hesitation, she shook her head and said, "I absolutely cannot defeat it."

Luwei glanced at Qunfei, then stepped forward with his sword and leaped onto the pond: "I'll give it a try."

A similar afterimage instantly appeared on the surface of the pool. Deer Tail looked at it with a smile, but his eyes were slightly narrowed. After a moment, he relaxed his wrist, and the tip of his sword lightly touched the surface of the lake.

"Come on." Shikao said.

Before many could even see clearly, a sharp clang rang out on the surface of the pool. The gray shadow hovered in the air behind Luwei, like a kite, while Luwei turned his arm and drew his sword, blocking the attack.

After Luwei blocked the sword, Yi Jian's rhythm slowed down significantly, and almost everyone could see it clearly.

The agile and graceful sword light, each strike possessing an indescribable wonder, is something many in the garden may never see again in their lifetime.

As a descendant of the "Mountain Spirit" sword lineage of Longjun Dongting, if Zhu Gaoyang roamed the river from childhood, then Luwei grew up on the mountain. Accompanied by vines, flowers, trees, wolves, leopards, snakes, and deer, drinking from stone springs and sheltered by pines and cypresses, even in the bustling capital, his easygoing and free-spirited nature remained.

This mountain air also permeated his sword.

His sword was far from Ning Shuhong's, exuding a chilling killing intent; in fact, it was almost devoid of any murderous aura.

Two figures, one real and one illusory, darted back and forth on the pond. Luwei was clearly more composed than Ning Shuhong in dealing with everything in this battle, parrying, exchanging blows, attacking and defending. What was truly astonishing was that even after dozens of moves, the intent in Luwei's sword remained unbroken—as if no matter how the battle situation changed, his first and last sword strikes were still in the same place.

It has a sense of being steadfast and unmoving.

Perhaps that's why the gray figure was never able to gain the upper hand over him.

The smile on Luwei's face had long since vanished. He stared intently at the gray figure in front of him, his sword techniques changing in an instant, his attacks becoming faster and faster. It was as if a silver lotus flower formed from sword light was rising on the pond.

But in the end, he sighed, and after a heavy clash, he gracefully darted backward, escaping the shadow of "my" sword light, and returned to the shore.

As soon as he left, his shadow on the pond turned into clear water and fell back into the pond.

Deer Tail stood on the shore, sword in hand, chin resting on his hand, and smiled.

"What, even Lu Zhenchuan couldn't win?" Qun Fei asked.

"I told you long ago, if this method is used, I'm afraid no one here will be able to solve it," Luwei laughed. "Why don't you, Young Master Tianshan, give it a try?"

Qunfei smiled and shook his head: "I just looked at it and I understand most of it. I can't beat this one."

"Akiji Shinden?"

Qiusi wore a crooked white hat and clothes that were grayish-white, making him look rather ugly. However, his face was quite handsome, with a high nose bridge, deep-set eyes, and a fierce and repressive air about him.

“This is the ‘full self,’ how can I defeat it?” He frowned, the mountain peak on his forehead towering higher than others. “I don’t have that ability either.”

The six chairs began to discuss amongst themselves, but for a moment no one dared to step onto the mysterious pool.

There was a great deal of discussion in the courtyard.

Many people looked bewildered; even some of the older members of the team had not reached this level of understanding and knowledge in swordsmanship.

Others were thinking that they had performed exceptionally well in their swordplay, yet they hadn't received a single word of praise from these six masters. It turned out that their focus had already far surpassed those sword moves, landing on such profound and unattainable depths.

Cui Zijie stared intently at the pool, then turned around and said, "I understand. Senior Yun Lang only kept the Heart Sword Mirror firmly in that pool, but the Heart Sword itself covered the entire garden."

“Indeed, only in this way can we both be within the sword of the heart, able to observe the sword without being harmed… It’s truly an unbelievable technique,” ​​Qi Mengchen said. “That is the sword of the heart.”

“From now on, we can say that we were unharmed by Yun Langtianlou’s Heart Sword technique, which is not an exaggeration,” Nan Guannu said.

Su Xingke asked in a daze, "Who do you think can solve this sword puzzle?"

Qi Mengchen said, "I still don't quite understand it."

Zuo Sheng explained, "This is the bottleneck that Ning Shuhong of Emei will face in the future. Because he cultivates the sword of life sense, he saw the obstacle of 'I cannot overcome myself' earlier than others. Therefore, the true disciple of Luwei asked the senior Yun Lang for a clean world and a style of heart sword, and thus created this so-called 'I face myself' problem."

“Since Ning Zhenchuan’s sword of destiny has reached the barrier, then as long as she overcomes this version of herself, she will naturally see the possibility of crossing the barrier. Now, Ning Zhenchuan herself is naturally no match for this ‘me,’ so Luwei Zhenchuan tried to step in and break the deadlock, but he is clearly only in a state of neither victory nor defeat.”

Zuo Sheng remained silent for a moment: "A bottleneck is often a swordsman's death hurdle, let alone a true disciple of a great sect like Emei. Even if the Emei master personally put in a lot of effort for many years, he may not be able to help True Disciple Ning break through the bottleneck. I think that being able to come up with such a sword challenge is enough to make one stand proudly at today's sword banquet, and it is still possible that no one can break through it."

Nan Guannu nodded in agreement and sighed softly, "Dongting is Dongting after all. All the sects are secretly competing to see who is better. The true disciple of Luwei has such a bold spirit, yet he brought out a sword challenge that even he himself couldn't pass—he is ranked second, so he didn't need to make a move."

Cui Zijie laughed: "You're trying to apply our Shaolong Jade Sword and Golden Book thinking to others... I can hardly imagine how this sword problem can be solved. Just now, Qiu Sizhenchuan's implication was the same: I can defeat 'one part of myself,' but I cannot defeat 'the whole self.' How can you determine the winner between two identical people?"

Zuo Sheng said, “That’s right. These high-ranking disciples can certainly surpass the ‘Self of Destiny’, but their ‘Self of Destiny’ is a partial self, while Ning Shuhong’s ‘Self of Destiny’ is the complete self. Therefore, the experience of victory is actually useless to Ning Shuhong. Only by facing this sword challenge directly can we achieve what Ning Shuhong faced when she encountered her bottleneck.”

Su Xingke stared straight at the pool and said, "I think Qunfei Zhenchuan will definitely win. She was just being modest."

"After visiting the capital, Young Master Su has also learned to admire and respect."

Su Xingke turned around and glared fiercely at the person.

Xiang Zongyuan, who had been silent all along, spoke up at this moment: "I think perhaps only the true teachings of 'Huang Yunxian' are worth a try."

Zuo Sheng and Cui Zijie were both startled and looked in that direction for a moment.

Qu Xin also pretended to be focused on those few renowned disciples.

The Jade Jade Sect Leader beside her returned after finishing his work. He affectionately took her arm and they leaned against the railing together, while he turned his head to chat with Cui Zhaoye and Changsun Jue beside him with a smile.

Qu Xin knew that this person was cunning, shrewd, and shrewd. He was capable of even telling Pei Ye on the back of a letter that he had received money. It would be even easier for him to extract information from a sword fetishist and a bookworm.

She was carefully considering her options.

Li Piaoqing ignored the thoughts in her head. She had only been standing there for a short time when her gaze swept around and she saw the simple-colored swordsman's robes, locking onto that distant yet clear face.

The girls around him chattered excitedly, talking about the continuous sword strikes from Deer Tail that resembled a flowing stream or a mist. After a moment, they looked at Cui Zhaoye with curiosity: "President Cui, what exactly is that thing? It's so amazing! Why couldn't Deer Tail's true disciple defeat that water spirit?"

Some people worried for the young man: "They are all so powerful, can Young Hero Pei Ye really compare to them... What will happen to the Feather Scale Trial this year?"

Others were discussing Ning Shuhong and even some of the swordsmen who had just fought, analyzing who was more powerful.

Even though everyone initially came solely to see Young Hero Pei Ye, they were inevitably captivated by the astonishing charm of swordsmanship and became completely immersed in this sword banquet. They discussed it with great enthusiasm, though only having a superficial understanding.

(End of this chapter)