Borrowing a sword

Chapter 83 The Dao Ancestor's Sword Sheath

At the foot of the mountain, Chu Huaixu listened to the Sixth Elder's question and immediately looked around, as if observing whether there were any eavesdroppers.

No, Li Chunsong, you really dare to ask that!
"Watch your words and your status, Sixth Elder!" Chu Huaixu thought to himself.

Seeing that he wasn't answering questions and was just looking around, the gambling addict couldn't help but find it amusing.

"Stop looking, it's just you and me around."

But after thinking about it, because he admired Chu Huaixu so much, he didn't hide it from him and added, "The sect leader and the others are in the main hall. You may have to come with me to the Purple Bamboo Forest later."

Chu Huaixu understood; he was temporarily being "monitored" by divine consciousness.

Several "cameras" are placed here to "secretly film" him.

Therefore, Chu Huaixu replied, "If Sixth Elder asks in this way, then this disciple dares not answer!"

These words really made Li Chunsong laugh out loud.

A smile appeared on his ordinary face, and he said in a tone that was both amused and exasperated:
"You're still playing mysterious with me? Even if you don't tell me, the library has records, including when you registered at the Spirit Repository just now. I can find out with a simple check."

Chu Huaixu looked at him, and that thought resurfaced in his mind: "Laugh! You're still laughing!"

He was well aware that he couldn't hide the fact that he had obtained the Daoist Canon from these high-ranking officials.

Therefore, he only made a final feint, pretending to be hesitant: "Sixth Elder insists that this disciple answer?"

"Speak quickly!" Li Chunsong waved his sleeve, slightly annoyed, and said, "Where did you learn that? Why are you so secretive?"

Seeing his expression, Chu Huaixu thought, "Then don't blame me!"
He cupped his hands towards the sky and said loudly:
"What this disciple cultivates is the Dao Canon left behind by the Dao Ancestor!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Chunsong's expression changed instantly.

"What?!" he exclaimed in shock. "This is impossible!"

How could such a bizarre and evil technique possibly be a Taoist classic that has always been known for its "moderation and harmony"?

Do you think that just because fewer people are practicing Taoist scriptures now, I don't know anything about them?
If this is truly the Daoist Canon, then wouldn't I be making irresponsible remarks about the Daoist patriarch and the Daoist Canon?
—Truly a betrayal of one's ancestors.

Seeing his appearance, Chu Huaixu pretended to be helpless and said, "To be honest, Sixth Elder, it really is the Dao Canon. This disciple dares not make up stories on matters concerning the Dao Ancestor."

Li Chunsong immediately raised two fingers and gently pointed forward.

A semi-transparent ripple spread forward as he began to probe the spiritual energy within Chu Huaixu's spiritual embryo secret treasure.

Well, it really comes down to those four words: moderation and peace!
Because each cultivation technique has different characteristics, the spiritual energy within a cultivator's body also varies.

Some may be scorching hot and violent, while others may be icy cold and bone-chilling.
The spiritual power within Chu Huaixu's body appeared unremarkable, perfectly matching the description in the Daoist Canon.

Li Chunsong looked at him with surprise, wishing he could raise his hand and slap himself.

Sure enough, he soon heard the voice transmission from Elder Lu Pan.

"Sixth Junior Brother, after this matter is settled, you will come with me to the Enforcement Court to receive your punishment."

What a treacherous and disloyal Li Chunsong!

But the Sixth Elder quickly grasped the key point.

"The eldest brother is going to be punished too? Hahaha!"

"Okay, I'm not upset anymore." He quickly adjusted his mindset.

He even muttered to himself, "Why didn't my junior sister say anything this time! What a pity! I wanted to see her screaming as she was whipped by the lightning whip."

Just as Li Chunsong was about to retract his finger, he heard a voice transmission from the sect leader, Xiang Yan.

"Sixth Junior Brother, examine his physical body."

Since the sect leader had spoken, Li Chunsong quickly did as he was told.

The next moment, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"A spirit resides within the body!"

"This is body tempering!"

Inside the main hall of the Taoist sect, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment once again.

Sect Leader Xiang Yan couldn't hold back any longer and finally raised his hand to gently scratch his bald head.

What's going on lately? Why are all these strange things happening? My scalp is so itchy.

This newly initiated outer disciple, despite only being at the second level of the first realm, somehow possesses extraordinary abilities.
"He used the Daoist classic to refine his body?"

"And he actually mastered it?" Zhao Shuqi's eyes almost disappeared.

Li Chunsong's voice transmission rang in everyone's ears:

“He cultivates both internal and external strength. Strangely enough, the total amount of spiritual energy within his spiritual embryonic treasure and the total amount of spiritual energy stored in his physical body maintain a delicate balance.”

The so-called cultivation of both internal and external aspects basically means focusing either on internal aspects or on external aspects.

Such a situation as Chu Huaixu is almost unheard of!

Li Chunsong continued to transmit his voice: "Moreover, if you add these two together, the spiritual power within his body is far more surging than that of cultivators at the same level! I'm referring to disciples who cultivate Heaven-level techniques!"

After realizing this, he couldn't help but secretly gasp.

The high-ranking members of the Taoist sect were secretly surprised, and the gloom that had been hanging over many people's hearts dissipated somewhat.

Sect Master Xiang Yan stated directly, "The spiritual energy is surging, and the sword heart is clear."

"Even without that sword, he has no rivals at the same level, right?"

"Then our chances of winning in this Origin Spirit Realm seem to have increased even more," he couldn't help but say.

Everyone nodded in agreement, agreeing with the sect leader's words.

Chu Yinyin then said, "Could it be that what he has mastered is the true Daoist Canon? In the past thousand years, none of the Daoist predecessors have truly entered the path?"

She acts like a teenage girl in her adolescence, she really dares to say anything.

But people still feel that this is a possibility.

Sect Leader Xiang Yan could only sigh again: "Things have come to this point, and we can only discuss this matter at length."

All current discussions are merely speculation, after all, the Daoist school has studied this "Daoist Canon" for a thousand years and still hasn't figured it out.

Chu Huaixu's cultivation has only just begun; we can observe him further.

"For the time being, this is a great thing for dealing with the [Origin Spirit Realm]," Xiang Yan could only say.

At the foot of Cangling Mountain, Li Chunsong listened to the sect leader's telepathic message and didn't ask any further questions. This matter could only be put on hold for the time being.

The focus right now is still on Cangling Mountain!

The key point is still the maxim of the Taoist patriarch!

Li Chunsong looked at the ancient sword sheath in Chu Huaixu's hand, a hint of reverence flashing in his eyes.

This is the sword sheath of the Dao Ancestor.

“I never expected that you would actually remove the Dao Ancestor’s sword sheath during your ascent of Mount Cangling,” said the Sixth Elder.

Chu Huaixu listened to this and began to process the information.

He thought to himself, "From this sentence, we can infer that the higher-ups in the Daoist sect all thought I had obtained the sword sheath?"

"So, in other words, they didn't actually know that this bead held a hidden secret; they just thought it was part of the sword sheath?"

With this thought in mind, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He was genuinely worried that he had taken two magical artifacts at once, and then one of them would be taken back.
"In this way, the scabbard can be used as a visible spiritual weapon," he decided.

After thinking it through, Chu Huaixu immediately raised the scabbard in his hand and said to Li Chunsong, "This disciple doesn't know either, but I just feel like I'm being summoned."

Li Chunsong nodded slightly, clicking his tongue in amazement: "This matter is indeed strange, because the Dao Ancestor's sword sheath was actually sealed on that stone platform."

"I don't know why you were able to take it off."

"Perhaps, this is the destiny that has brought you here today." That was the only explanation he could offer.

In Taoism, anything that can't be explained is considered fate, after all...
Fate is truly wondrous.

Upon hearing this, Chu Huaixu held the ancient black scabbard in both hands and looked down to examine it closely.

With Li Chunsong present, he decided to ask more questions to get some answers.

"Sixth Elder, is this scabbard part of the sword?"

In the realm of weapon crafting, some swords and scabbards are one piece, made from similar or complementary materials.

The sword "Partridge Sky" is an example of a sword where the scabbard and the sword are integrated, making it a complete set.

However, some swords are not scabbards when they are first forged; they are only sword blanks.

The scabbard is another magical artifact; the two are independent entities.

When Li Chunsong heard Chu Huaixu ask this question, he felt it was necessary to tell him, since he had already become the future owner of the Dao Ancestor's sword sheath.

"Look at their shapes, do you think they're a set?" he asked with a smile.

Chu Huaixu shook his head and said directly, "It doesn't seem like it."

The scabbard in his hand was entirely black, with an ancient and simple design, and it was unclear what kind of wood it was made of.

The scabbard is engraved with some very simple patterns, not fancy, but overall beautiful and elegant.

In contrast, the only distinctive feature of that bronze sword was that it was longer than that of an ordinary bronze sword.

What's more, it's so ugly.
The rustic black wooden scabbard and the ugly bronze longsword seem like an odd match.

Li Chunsong nodded and said, "You're right, they are not one entity."

The Sixth Elder gazed leisurely at the sky, adopting the demeanor of a wise man, and began to recount some past stories in detail.

"You must have heard many legends about the Taoist Ancestor since you were a child, right?"

"Yes!" Chu Huaixu said loudly, his face showing reverence, desperately trying to get information out of him.

Li Chunsong smiled and continued, "As everyone knows, before the Dao Ancestor obtained this sword in the town, he did not have a sword."

Chu Huaixu muttered to himself, "Yeah, he doesn't have a sword; he's focused on using other people's swords for free."

"But whether it was out of interest or for some other reason, the Dao Ancestor always referred to himself as a sword cultivator." The Sixth Elder continued to look up at the sky.

"Therefore, although he did not have a sword in his hand, he always carried a scabbard with him."

He pointed and said, "That's it."

Therefore, it can be concluded that the scabbard and the sword are actually completely unrelated.

Chu Huaixu felt a pang of regret: "I thought they had stolen its 'wife'."

It turns out they weren't a single entity at all.

When talking about the founder of Taoism, Li Chunsong was in high spirits.

He continued, "There's another story that you, as a Taoist disciple, must know. The Taoist sect we're in now had a 'Gentleman's Temple' here a thousand years ago."

Chu Huaixu nodded repeatedly, appearing to be listening attentively.

He knew that the concept of the gentleman hadn't disappeared; it had simply existed in another form.

The Taoist school is divided into outer and inner schools, but within the inner school, there are also inner disciples and true disciples.

And every true disciple can enter the Gentleman's Temple!

Li Chunsong looked up at the sky again, standing with his hands behind his back: "Back then, the Dao Ancestor was a Daoist in the Junzi Temple."

"The Junzi Temple will bestow a wooden sword upon each Taoist priest."

"However, after the Dao Ancestor accidentally obtained the nameless skill, he went down the mountain for the first time to train. His wooden sword broke during the battle, leaving only a scabbard."

"After all, it is only forged from black wood, so it is only harder than ordinary wood. It is very easy to be damaged in front of a spiritual weapon."

The more Chu Huaixu listened, the more something seemed off.

"But..." He glanced down at the scabbard in his hand, then hesitated.

"Are you saying that the scabbard in your hand is not an ordinary object, but a spiritual weapon?"

“Yes, that is exactly what I meant,” Chu Huaixu replied.

Li Chunsong smiled at him, then waved his hand: "Hey! How could ordinary cultivators like you and me understand the realm of the Dao Ancestor?"

"I can tell you very clearly that the scabbard in your hand is the standard scabbard of the Gentleman's Temple. There's nothing special about it. It's just made of the most ordinary black wood. It didn't use any rare or precious materials, nor did it undergo any refining process."

"It just followed the Dao Ancestor for too long, and over time, it naturally became a top-grade spiritual artifact."

(End of this chapter)