Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 284 The Power of the Heavenly Secrets Path! (4k)

The next moment, a foot-long white light burst forth from Zhu Ge's eyes, illuminating the surroundings.

In his eyes, the patterns of this world emerged.

The ground beneath my feet is covered with countless dots, and the sky above is covered with countless dots.

There are also hexagrams such as "three", "", "", and "three".

Subsequently, these hexagrams drifted and scattered, forming threads that adorned the white plum blossoms.

These threads are moving and twisting, as if they are contorting into abstract images.

past!

future!

This is the hexagram, this is the secret of heaven!

"The Way of Heavenly Secrets!" Zhu Ge uttered three words, then raised the Purgatory Star Staff and struck forward.

The next moment, all the strange phenomena vanished.

"This, this is—" an elder exclaimed in astonishment.

The disciples erupted in chaos after a second of silence.

"How is that possible! That's sword intent!!"

"How did it disappear? It wasn't some kind of magical spell!"

"Even a simple rain-making spell shouldn't dissipate so quickly!"

"I don't understand, I don't understand."

The disciples were all shocked.

Zhu Ge's blow was like striking a snake at its vital spot, or like tapping the switch of a high-pressure water gun that was spraying water.

It's like choosing to touch the switch on the high-pressure water gun instead of fighting against its flow.

With a little effort, ten things were accomplished.

Seeing this, Jian Wuxin, who was in the distance, also became serious.

Meanwhile, one figure after another appeared in the sky.

Among them were Cao Zhi, who had previously been rejected when he tried to become Zhu Ge's disciple, and others at the Fusion Realm and among the Great Ones.

"This is the new Confucianism?! How incredibly powerful!"

"I thought I was witnessing a scene from ancient martial arts where physical strength could overcome all techniques."

"Such skills are close to the Tao."

"This new Confucianism and Taoism—we must learn it!"

These people were responsible for "escorting" Zhu Ge to Shengjing, which also served as a chance to observe the new Confucianism.

Now that they saw Zhu Ge break through Bai Mei's sword intent with such ease, these people couldn't sit still any longer.

"I want to become an apprentice! I want to become an apprentice too!"

"Cao Zhi, you got a great deal!"

"Such a great path is truly a sight to behold once in a thousand or ten thousand years."

These people looked at Cao Zhi's self-confidence with envy.

Cao Zhi touched his nose and chuckled, "It's best if you all don't disturb Master Zhu. He's currently honing his skills in the Yi Dao. If you disturb him, don't forget about that other one—"

As soon as the words were spoken, the others thought of the Annihilation True Monarch, and their eyes immediately cleared.

The Annihilation True Lord has been really amusing them lately.

One minute I'm sneezing, the next I'm having a runny nose, then I'm coughing.

They went to great lengths to pretend to be ordinary people.

This made them suspect that the True Lord of Oblivion might have taken a step forward and reached a powerful state of returning to simplicity.

The former Annihilation True Lord could annihilate those of the same realm with a single sword strike.

What about now?

They didn't know how powerful the Annihilation True Monarch was now, but they knew he could wipe them all out with a single sword strike.

"Yes, yes, we mustn't disturb the blessing song."

"Yeah, they're having a match right now, so I'll disappear for now."

"Me too, me too. I'll consult Master after he departs."

One by one, these people disappeared into the air again.

At this moment, Bai Mei, who was opposite Zhu Ge, was completely dumbfounded.

She stared blankly at Zhu Ge, her grip on the sword almost giving way.

"Miss Bai Mei, you've lost." Zhu Ge was already standing there smiling, looking at Bai Mei.

Bai Mei then realized she had been staring at Zhu Ge the whole time, so her cheeks flushed, sheathed her sword, clasped her hands in a fist and said, "I admit defeat!"

"You flatter me," Zhu Ge said, bowing respectfully.

Immediately, Bai Mei flew away, quite decisively.

Zhu Ge, on the other hand, remained where she was, pondering the sudden realization that had just occurred to her.

The Way of Heavenly Secrets!

He discovered that the Yi Dao can actually be divided into two types.

One approach focuses on array formations, using the elements of heaven, earth, wind, thunder, water, fire, mountains, and marshes as its foundation, with spiritual energy combined with literary energy to activate all phenomena of heaven and earth.

The second is the Heavenly Secrets Path!

To deduce the secrets of heaven and to divine the past and present!

Divination is one of its main functions, allowing one to calculate the past and predict various possibilities for the future.

Besides this function, he finally discovered in battle that the lower trigram also had combat capabilities.

By simply stimulating the literary energy, one can see the opponent's next move.

They can even spot weaknesses!

Sword intent like Bai Mei's, though not weak, doesn't even reach the stage of manifesting true intent. Zhu Ge could break through it with ease.

"Is there anyone else who wants to spar?"

Zhu Ge smiled and looked around.

He was quite looking forward to it, hoping that the exchange of skills would help him perfect the Heavenly Secrets Path.

"I'll go." A young swordsman stepped out from the crowd.

He was tall and slender with a handsome face, and a long sword hung at his waist, with a bamboo leaf engraved on the scabbard.

Unlike the aloofness of white plum blossoms, this person possesses a resilience like bamboo, upright and unyielding.

His footsteps were very light, making almost no sound on the bluestone slabs, but each step was steady and resonant, as if his feet were rooted to the ground.

"Senior Brother Zhuqing!" someone cheered from the crowd.

"Senior Brother Zhu Qing is at the peak of the Third Realm, a genius in swordsmanship. It's said he's already halfway through the threshold of manifesting sword intent, even stronger than Senior Sister Bai Mei!"

"Senior Brother Zhu Qing almost made it onto the 'Imperial List' last year!"

The disciples became excited.

Zhu Qing walked up to Zhu Ge, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Zhu Qing, a disciple of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect, requests guidance from Mr. Zhu Ge."

Zhu Ge returned the greeting with clasped hands: "Please."

Zhu Qing drew his longsword, its blade entirely emerald green, with faint bamboo leaf patterns on the edge.

He gripped the hilt of the sword, the tip pointing diagonally to the ground, his whole being like a green bamboo, upright and resilient.

His breathing was slow and steady.

Like the mountain wind, blowing through the bamboo forest, rustling softly.

"I have already witnessed your understanding of the I Ching, sir," Zhu Qing said. "Therefore, I will not give you the opportunity to perform divination."

""

He vanished in a flash.

His sword intent merged with the surrounding bamboo forest, his aura vanished, as if he were not standing there, but had become a bamboo stalk, a bamboo leaf, or a wisp of mountain breeze.

"Hidden?" Zhu Ge raised an eyebrow and glanced around.

Divination is not just about seeing, but also about feeling.

The essence of the Way of Heavenly Secrets is not to use the eyes to capture the opponent's movements, but to use the heart to perceive the "principle" that is omnipresent in the world.

Although Zhu Qing concealed his aura, he was still within the universe and within the Eight Trigrams.

As long as he is there, there will be clues to follow.

A surge of literary energy coursed through my mind, and the eight trigrams—Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui—flashed by in my thoughts.

Zhu Qing's figure appeared in the hexagram.

It wasn't just one figure, but countless ones.

Countless bamboo vines—all possible attack trajectories!

"Found it."

Zhu Ge opened his eyes and swept the Purgatory Star Staff horizontally to the left.

"clang"

The sticks and swords clashed, sparks flying everywhere.

Zhu Qing's figure appeared from the void, and she was knocked back several steps, her tiger's mouth slightly numb.

His eyes were filled with disbelief: "You—how did you know I was here?"

"I guessed." Zhu Ge smiled.

Zhu Qing gritted her teeth and disappeared again.

This time he was faster and more stealthy.

His sword intent merged completely with the bamboo forest, as if he himself were part of the bamboo forest, and a faint image of a bamboo forest was about to appear in the void.

Zhu Ge closed his eyes again, and the divination result appeared, capturing Zhu Qing's attack trajectory once more.

This time, Zhu Ge didn't wait for him to make a move, but took the initiative to attack.

He activated the Incense Lighting Technique, his figure moving like smoke and mist as he rushed into the depths of the bamboo forest.

The Purgatory Star Staff spun in his hand, then smashed down on a seemingly ordinary clump of bamboo.

"clang""

Zhu Qing's figure emerged from the bamboo stalks, only to be smashed away by a stick, breaking several bamboo stalks in the process.

He staggered to his feet, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but the fighting spirit in his eyes only intensified.

"Sir, your understanding of the Yi Dao is indeed remarkable." Zhu Qing wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.

He gripped the sword with both hands, and the sword shone with a brilliant emerald green light.

Sword heart throbbed, sword intent surged, and the phantom of a bamboo forest appeared above his head.

The bamboo forest swayed in the wind, the bamboo leaves rustling, each bamboo leaf a sword-like aura.

"This is Senior Brother Zhu Qing's Bamboo Sea Sword Intent!" someone in the crowd exclaimed.

"Bamboo Forest Sword Intent: With a single strike, a sea of ​​bamboo springs forth, ten thousand leaves take flight, its power boundless!"

"They crossed the threshold of true meaning so easily! I wish I could too!"

"Do you think that's easy? Senior Brother Zhuqing has been accumulating knowledge and experience before unleashing his full potential. Don't even think about it; you haven't even accumulated that much knowledge," and you still expect to unleash your potential?

The disciples exclaimed in surprise.

Even the elders nodded in approval after seeing it.

Only Jian Wuxin shook his head and sighed with a smile on his face.

At this moment, Zhu Qing pointed his sword tip, and the illusory image of the bamboo sea exploded, transforming into a sky full of bamboo leaf sword energy, which poured towards Zhu Ge like a torrential rain.

The dense sword energy blocked all of Zhu Ge's escape routes.

"What excellent sword intent!" Zhu Ge did not retreat, but instead spun the Purgatory Star Staff in his hand, the staff shadows intertwining to form a silver-red light screen, blocking the sword energy one by one without missing a beat.

"Clang clang clang clang"

The sounds of swords and clubs clashing were as dense as rain, and sparks flew everywhere.

A moment later, the true meaning manifested and faded, and Zhu Qing sheathed her sword: "I am no match for you, and I concede defeat."

He turned and walked back into the crowd, his back still upright, but his steps were a little slower than when he came.

Bai Mei lost, and Zhu Qing lost too.

The square was silent. The disciples of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

The elders remained calm, but a hint of seriousness flashed in their eyes.

"Who else?" Zhu Ge looked around.

"I'll go." An old voice came from the crowd.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw an elderly man with white hair walk out from the crowd.

He was wearing a gray Taoist robe, with no sword hanging at his waist, but a sword was slung over his back.

The sword was entirely black, without a scabbard, and was simply tied to its back with strips of cloth.

"The Supreme Elder!" someone in the crowd exclaimed.

"Wasn't the Supreme Elder in seclusion? Why is he out?"

"The Supreme Elder is a sword master at the Fusion Realm! If he makes a move, Mr. Zhu Ge will likely suffer a loss!"

The old man walked up to Zhu Ge, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "I am Jian Wuhen, the Supreme Elder of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect. Mr. Zhu Ge, I would like to ask for your guidance."

"Of course, I'll only use the power of the second realm. Is that alright?"

May I?

Zhu Ge looked at the old man and listened to his almost pleading tone, a strange feeling welled up in her heart.

This old man had no sword intent or sword energy; he only gave off a feeling of "no sword".

It was as if he were not a person, but a sword.

His aura was as deep as an abyss. Zhu Ge couldn't sense his specific level of cultivation, but she could feel that he was much stronger than Hongmi Daxian.

But he was surprisingly humble and polite.

He glanced at Jian Wuxin in the sky, and Jian Wuxin also cast a pleading glance back at him.

"You flatter me, senior." Zhu Ge returned the greeting with clasped hands, "This junior would be grateful for your guidance, senior."

"The new Confucian way, if you're willing to teach me, then you're the one instructing me," Jian Wuhen said, shaking his head.

"Senior is mistaken." Zhu Ge clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute again: "The Confucianism and Taoism I teach are not free. I did not agree to teach you Confucianism and Taoism, I only agreed to spar."

This statement caused an uproar.

Upon hearing Zhu Ge's words, the Supreme Elder was stunned for a second before bursting into laughter.

"Very well, Master Zhu, you certainly have a fine heart for swordsmanship!" Jian Wuhen laughed. "In that case, let's have a spar!"

"Please, senior." Zhu Ge took a few steps back, holding the Purgatory Star Staff horizontally in front of him.

Without any hesitation, Jian Wuhen reached behind his back and took out the jet-black longsword.

The sword had no scabbard and was bound with strips of cloth. He untied the cloth very slowly, as if he were unwrapping a precious gift.

The moment the sword was revealed, a sharp sword intent rushed towards you, but it was not offensive; rather, it was a feeling of "presence."

presence!

It was as if the sword was always there, never having left.

"This sword is named 'Rotten Wood.'" Jian Wuhen stroked the blade, his eyes filled with tenderness. "It has been with me for six hundred years."

"The sword is old, and so is the man, but the sword can still slay demons, ghosts, monsters, and gods, and the man can still stand. That's enough."

The sword is old — Zhu Ge looked at the sword and a strange feeling welled up in his heart.

The sword had no sword aura, no spiritual light, and even looked somewhat rusty.

But it felt more dangerous to him than those dazzling divine weapons.

"Senior, please." Zhu Ge said solemnly.

Jian Wuhen nodded, gripped the hilt of his sword, and pointed the tip of the sword diagonally at the ground.

His aura changed, becoming sharp and fierce, as if he were no longer a person, but a drawn sword.

"I will only use the power of the second realm," Jian Wuhen said. "But my sword intent has been honed over six hundred years, so please be careful, Master Zhu."

Before he finished speaking, he vanished from the spot in a flash.

It was as fast as light, as fast as lightning, as fast as the thought had barely formed before the sword arrived.

Even faster than the previous two — Zhu Ge's pupils suddenly contracted.

His Heavenly Secrets Dao could predict his opponent's next move, but Jian Wuhen was too fast; so fast that before his divination could even appear, the sword was already upon him.

If you can't predict the future, you can only face it head-on.

The Purgatory Star Staff was held horizontally in front of him, with the tip of his sword touching the staff.

With a sharp clang, Zhu Ge was forced back several steps, his hands and feet numb. Jian Wuhen did not pursue, but instead sheathed his sword and stood watching Zhu Ge, his eyes full of admiration.

"Caught it." Jian Wuhen looked satisfied. "This sword strike of mine used the maximum speed of the second realm. Among those of the same realm, no more than five people could catch it."

Zhu Ge shook his numb wrist: "Senior's sword is very fast."

"It's not the sword that's fast, it's the mind that's fast." Jian Wuhen shook his head and corrected, "Let's try again."

He drew his sword again.

This time it wasn't one sword strike, but nine.

Nine sword lights pierced from different directions, each sword carrying a different sword intent.

There are fast swords, slow swords, heavy swords, and light swords—nine kinds of sword intent, nine kinds of variations, interwoven into an impenetrable sword net, enveloping Zhu Ge.

Moreover, none of them exceeded the threshold of power, and it could even be said that none of them manifested their true meaning.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Ge's literary energy surged forth, and a divination image appeared.

The eight trigrams—Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui—flashed through my mind.

The nine sword lights of Jian Wuhen appeared in the hexagram, revealing countless possible variations of the nine swords.

"Found it, here it is!" Zhu Ge opened his eyes and swept the Purgatory Star Staff horizontally to the left.

"clang""

The sword was blocked.

The stick was turned and swung to the right.

"clang"

The second sword strike was blocked.

The stick rotates again and thrusts upwards.

"clang"

The third sword strike was blocked.

The stick, shaped like a snake, burrowed downwards.

"clang""

The fourth sword was blocked.

The Purgatory Star Staff transformed into a silver-red whirlwind in Zhu Ge's hands, blocking all nine sword lights.

"Clang clang clang clang"

Nine crisp sounds rang out, and all nine swords were blocked.

Jian Wuhen sheathed his sword and stood there, looking at Zhu Ge with eyes full of amazement.

"The Heavenly Mystery Path is a branch of the Yi Dao, right?" Jian Wuhen exclaimed in surprise, "My Nine Swords each have nine variations, totaling eighty-one variations."

"You anticipated all the changes in an instant and blocked all the swords. I am ashamed to admit that I am not as capable as you."

"You flatter me, senior," Zhu Ge said modestly. "I was just lucky."

"Luck is also a part of strength." Jian Wuhen smiled. "I have one more sword strike. If Master Zhu can withstand it, I..."

Just admit defeat.

>