Chapter 797: Chapter 020 Spirit Positioning
"If Elder Martial Uncle says it’s not suitable, then it must certainly be unsuitable. Moreover, I actually have another sword that is connected to my lifeblood, it’s just a pity that this sword is completely damaged and unusable, so I can only carry it silently by my side; in helplessness, I ended up using this mismatched broken ancient sword."
Yang Qingtan said as he took out a three-piece rusted and decaying broken sword filled with an aura of corruption from a simple Qiankun cloth bag, looking at Zhou Yan with a hint of hope.
"Since you put it that way, I won’t hold back. As for these three pieces—huh, is this the Sand Containing Sword?"
Zhou Yan saw through the Sword Soul at a glance and finally understood the reason the Xuanyuan Sword Fragment followed Yang Qingtan—because Yang Qingtan had the recognition of the Sand Containing Sword!
"The Sand Containing Sword?"
Yang Qingtan was somewhat astonished, clearly unaware of the origins of the Sand Containing Sword.
However, Hua Qiudao was slightly hesitant at first but then understood, recalling the history of the Sand Containing Sword.
Zhou Yan nodded slightly and was even more satisfied with Hua Qiudao, an astonishing person who was erudite and could connect the past and present; indeed, someone worthy of respect.
"According to the records in ancient scriptures, no one knows who forged the Sand Containing Sword, but in the ancient or perhaps earlier eras, it was Qing He, the founder of the Sword Sect, who first journeyed across the Primordial Ten Thousand Realms with this sword, battling invincibly.
Later, Qing He wielded the sword in a duel with the great god Fu Xi. After a thousand exchanges, Qing He was defeated and subsequently joined the Divine Race and established the Sword Sect. During that time, the Divine Race had two of the Eight Great Divine Artifacts—the Tai Xu Divine Armor and the Divine Blade—stolen, and since they could not assemble all eight artifacts, they included Qing He’s Sand Containing Sword among the Divine Artifacts. Afterward, this sword was passed down within the Sword Sect until it reached Mu Qing’s hands.
Before Xuanyuan became renowned, it was with this sword given to him by Mu Qing that he surmounted numerous perils, and later he was able to unify the Primordial and become the first Great Emperor through the ages; this sword can be said to have played an indispensable role. After the battle of Zhuolu, Emperor Xuan Yuan returned the sword to Mu Qing, who also became the master of the Sword Sect."
"So it’s said, before Xuanyuan became the Great Emperor, this was his sword. After becoming the Great Emperor, the Xuanyuan Sword was his sword."
"What you have obtained is the divine Sand Containing Sword from before Emperor Xuan Yuan’s time, while the one connected to my lifeblood is the divine Xuanyuan Sword after Emperor Xuan Yuan’s time."
"It seems, in this way, you could always be called my ’path ahead’."
Zhou Yan analyzed and said.
This analysis, however, led Zhou Yan to associate with Yang Qingtan of the Sword Burial Ancestor Star.
That Yang Qingtan existed before Lei Yan King’s next life Zhou Yan, but ultimately met an early demise.
Just like this sword, which could have been Emperor Xuan Yuan’s Xuanyuan Sword, yet before becoming emperor, it was returned to someone else...
It’s almost as if everything is destined, with Yang Qingtan destined to be merely a ’stepping stone’ on the path ahead.
In two different worlds, Zhou Yan discovered a similar thread.
He didn’t know if it was a coincidence or if it was orchestrated, but such a scenario led Zhou Yan to feel deep, inexplicable dread towards the entire world, towards the entire Heavenly Dao.
If someone could even plan such things, using the primary and secondary status of Emperor Xuan Yuan’s swords to determine the primary and secondary status in life’s pattern, that would be too terrifying.
"To be able to become Elder Martial Uncle’s ’path ahead’ is an honor for Yang Qingtan. Presumably, the fame of the Sand Containing Sword comes not from anything else, but because it once was Emperor Xuan Yuan’s sword. It is Emperor Xuan Yuan who bestowed the name to Sand Containing Sword. And the Sand Containing Sword, even as just one of Emperor Xuan Yuan’s former swords, must also be very honored."
Yang Qingtan said earnestly.
He even positioned himself as such and felt proud and contented because of it, without a hint of dissatisfaction.
Zhou Yan was rendered speechless by this scene.
But after a moment, Zhou Yan also came to terms with it. Yang Qingtan placed himself in such a position, and found contentment in it, which is an attitude towards life.
If one sees oneself as an ordinary person, then joining the ranks of cultivators would bring them boundless joy and contentment.
If one sees oneself as the Supreme of Heaven and Earth, the ruler of Ten Thousand Realms, even becoming the king of a single world would not be enough to satisfy.
The key lies in one’s spirit, in how one positions oneself.
"Perhaps, constantly positioning oneself is in itself a kind of enlightening cultivation? Now, I’ll consider my own position as collecting preliminary information on the Xuanyuan Sword, stabilizing this part of the Cultivation World, fulfilling the true completion of teaching, and optimizing the scriptures of the major sects."
"Once these are achieved, I can step onto an unknown path ahead; that will be my second spiritual positioning."
Zhou Yan murmured to himself.
With these thoughts coming to mind, Zhou Yan, who once felt his path was unknown and shrouded in confusion, suddenly found a new direction to move forward.
"Perhaps, if I perfectly navigate each spiritual positioning, just like the realms of cultivation, advancing step by step, even those far-off realms will come ever closer."
"This is also why in that world, the levels of cultivation are so clearly defined. I hadn’t expected that I would not have considered combining spiritual positioning with the arrangement of realms, still wondering about the path ahead... It seems what Xuanyuan Ancestor said was all true. When the time comes, I’ll naturally know which way to go."
"It doesn’t matter which way, as long as it’s forward, then the realm will surely be closer, and if at that moment the way is still unknown, then telepathy will guide me, cutting through all illusion."
Because of Yang Qingtan’s words and his own positioning, Zhou Yan learned spiritual positioning, a simple but incredibly important skill for him.
Zhou Yan thought over this and accepted the broken sword of the Xuanyuan Sword, as well as those three decaying fragments.
Once the Sand Containing Sword reached Zhou Yan’s hands, he felt an inexplicable familiarity as if he had once held this sword in a fleeting familiar scene.
However, that fleeting sense of familiarity soon vanished, and Zhou Yan felt an unspeakable sorrow rise within him, instinctively employing the Nirvana Rebirth Technique, combined with the Vast Qi Soul, to restore the sword’s divinity.
At the same time, using the Tai Chu Rune Silent Annihilation Purple Flame technique, Zhou Yan devoted himself to refining the sword, restoring the Tai Chu Rune Ancient Array that lay upon it.
This process took twice as long as it did for other Ancient Divine Weapons, but the results were equally impressive.
After restoration, the sword was imbued with a king’s command and boundless sharpness, seemingly capable of conquering all and cutting through anything.
Upon its reemergence, the sword seemed to subtly attract descending thunder, yet Zhou Yan dissipated the impending tribulation lightning with a surge of Vast Qi.
This feat caused the elders of the Tao Sect, such as Hua Qiudao, to narrow their eyes and skip a beat in their hearts.
Yang Qingtan’s eyes were glued to the scene, to the point where he was nearly drooling.
It was rare for him to lose composure like this, but the sword had him completely mesmerized, so much so that he overlooked the terrifying method Zhou Yan used to dispel the calamitous lightning.
"Take it, the sword’s divinity is half restored, and the Sword Body is forty percent restored," Zhou Yan said.
Yang Qingtan, overwhelmed with excitement, took the sword and nearly knelt down right there but was once again stopped by Zhou Yan.
"There’s no need for such formalities; I understand your sentiment. In the future, we are all cultivators on the same battlefront, our own people, facing the enemies from the Outer Star Domain. So, it’s only natural for us to unite as one," Zhou Yan said.
He had made up his mind that if these people were willing, he would do everything in his power to bring them to Sword Burial Ancestor Star and other Outer Star Domains, allowing the ancient Huaxia traditions to shine the splendor of civilization in that world.
"Yes, Martial Uncle," Yang Qingtan replied, his hands trembling as he held the sword. It was as if the sword had been reborn through Nirvana and was filled with various auras of the Supreme Dao. This was the moment Yang Qingtan had dreamed of, which now, suddenly, became a reality.
He held the hilt with both hands, as though cradling the rarest treasure or treating it as his dearest beloved, with a gaze gentle as water...
...
"Fellow Daoist Zhou Yan, there is something I am unsure whether to say," Hua Qiudao, walking with Zhou Yan through the Tao Sect and touring its ancient sites, suddenly said.
"Taoist Qiu, if you have something to say, please speak plainly," Zhou Yan responded.
"The sword you restored for Heavenly Sword Daoist, it possesses the aura of the Sword Sect’s Sect Master. I’m afraid Fang Wuxi of the Shushan Sword Sect will not let this go. Our older generation has different principles from theirs. Not all cultivators will obey you, either. I have given it careful thought and fear that a crisis might emerge during the lecture at the Immortal Pool," Hua Qiudao mused.
"Hmm?" Zhou Yan paused slightly with some confusion, looking at Hua Qiudao.
After pondering for a moment, Hua Qiudao continued, "Due to my cultivation and familiarity with Ancient Books, I have also studied ’The Book of Changes’ and the Eight Diagrams for many years. I can infer simple fortunes and misfortunes. The transformations of the Yi Jing were not clear before, but now that the lecture at the Immortal Pool is confirmed, I suddenly have an uneasy premonition that could mean two things: one is the struggle for the Nine Cauldrons, and the other, a change in the lecture."
"After seeing the sword in Heavenly Sword Daoist Yang Qingtan’s possession and witnessing many Ancient Divine Weapons display newfound combat power, I worry that the era of war is approaching once again."
"The era of war? Are you talking about a Sect war, chaos brought on by possession of Ancient Divine Weapons, or the West seizing King Yu’s Nine Cauldrons? Taoist Qiu, I think you’ve forgotten one thing," Zhou Yan said with a calm voice.
"Please enlighten me, Taoist friend," Hua Qiudao immediately concentrated and held his breath, respectfully prompting.
"Taoist Qiu, I, Zhou Yan, have returned from the Outer Star Domain and have not seen myself as superior, feeling above others. But that does not mean I am a pushover. If anyone dares to use the Ancient Divine Weapons I restored for evil deeds, to seize treasures, bully others, or disrupt my lecture at the Immortal Pool, I will ensure they remember this lesson for the rest of their lives," Zhou Yan said with a cold laugh.
Hua Qiudao felt a chill run down his spine as he sensed the intense murderous intent, suddenly realizing the gravity of the situation—just how many lives must one take to exude such terrifying killing aura!
"I forgot to mention that when I was in the Outer Star Domain, I was known as ’King Yan’. At my most brutal, I once devoured a planet in a single gulp. Planets in the Outer Star Domain are hundreds of times larger than the Sun and far more populous. You can imagine what ordinary lives mean to me—they are less significant than ants. Given this, do you think I would care about killing a few troublemakers on our own Ancestral Land?"
Zhou Yan retorted.
Hua Qiudao felt cold in his heart at these words.
The three elders accompanying Hua Qiudao from the Tao Sect had their backs turn cold as well, then remembering that although Earth’s Ancestral Land might be cruel, it was relatively calm compared to the bloody battlegrounds of the Outer Star Domain. In a cultivation environment, the Natural Dao of survival of the fittest was exemplified to the fullest—there were no truly kind-hearted individuals, and it was likely every cultivator had their hands stained with endless blood.
"Then... I offer them a silent prayer. I hope they will consider this," Hua Qiudao said with a wry smile.