NOVEL NEXT chapter 22
Chapter 22: The Malice of Heaven
For a long time after Wan Ruicai broke into the Tianyan Sect, everything was calm, as if nothing had happened.
He Youzhou was in the courtyard, enjoying Zhishi’s massage service, lazily basking in the sun.
His current state was completely like a cat squinting in the sun, probably if someone pushed him, he wouldn’t react.
“Master, have you really not considered changing your sword?” Zhishi asked softly, looking at the iron sword that never left her master’s side.
“No way, transferring the spiritual energy from this sword to another one is too troublesome.” He Youzhou answered decadently.
“Alright.” Zhishi always listened to her master, if he was too lazy to change, then he was too lazy to change.
She just felt that such a shabby sword did not match her wise, mighty, and handsome master.
Zhishi believed that the sword her master used should be the kind that exudes demonic energy and is extremely domineering.
“Master, has your cultivation level regressed again?” Zhishi, who was massaging He Youzhou, found that her master’s cultivation had regressed from the late Foundation Establishment stage to the mid-stage.
“It seems so.” He Youzhou was stunned for a moment.
Recently, He Youzhou’s strength seemed to have regressed a bit, but fortunately, he was still at the Foundation Establishment stage and could participate in the rookie competition.
He Youzhou’s current realm would continue to regress, maybe one day he would regress to a mortal.
But the regression of his realm did not mean he would become weaker, because he was practicing a very strange technique – “Sword Nourishing Technique”.
According to his uncle, the inspiration for this technique came from the boastful talk of a charlatan.
The charlatan said that if you cultivate your handy sword to the Golden Core stage or Nascent Soul stage, it would definitely be stronger than a cultivator of the corresponding realm.
The reason is that the sword is stronger than the person.
His uncle thought it made a lot of sense, so he came up with this technique and casually handed it to He Youzhou.
Nourish the sword with Qi, nourish the sword with soul, nourish the sword with everything.
Man and sword become one, the self does nothing, the sword’s edge is hidden.
In the end, the person is just an accessory to the swordsmanship, the sword is the boss.
Moreover, there’s no need to worry about what happens if the sword you’ve nurtured for many years goes missing.
Because for those who practice the “Sword Nurturing Technique,” swords can be easily replaced.
With just a thought, all the cultivation on the lost sword can be transferred to another sword.
Flowing water, ironclad attachments.
Of course, He Youzhou didn’t initially practice the “Sword Nurturing Technique.” He started practicing it out of boredom after the decline of the Tianyan Sect.
After all, the sect was in such a state of disrepair that it didn’t matter if he practiced casually.
At that time, He Youzhou didn’t even have any disciples, so he could be said to be completely unrestrained and fearless.
Unexpectedly, after practicing the “Sword Nurturing Technique,” he found it not only novel and fun but also ridiculously powerful.
The charlatan was right; the sword was much stronger than his own useless body.
What is a mortal body? He was not familiar with it.
But his uncle said that he cultivated so quickly because he was highly compatible with this technique.
His uncle, who had already passed away and was now a small animal in the Sutra Library, confessed to He Youzhou that he hadn’t expected anyone to successfully cultivate it.
Not only did He Youzhou succeed, but he also unknowingly nurtured his sword with all his cultivation for over twenty years.
He felt that the more he nurtured the sword, the more relaxed he became, probably because he had no pressure.
Unfortunately, the “Sword Nurturing Technique” had one drawback for him: his own cultivation would decline, which was quite uncomfortable.
Without enough cultivation, if someone poisoned him with a toxic pill, he estimated he would die.
“It doesn’t matter. Even if I fall back to the Qi Refining stage, I am still the sect leader,” He Youzhou said proudly.
It didn’t matter if his senior brother returned; he was the legitimate head of the Tianyan Sect.
While he was feeling proud of his attitude towards life, Youlan walked over gracefully from a distance.
“Master,” Youlan walked up to He Youzhou, her expression a bit serious, “I’ve decided to go down the mountain with you.”
“And I’ve just entered the Foundation Establishment stage. I want to participate in the rookie competition with you,” she said.
“Hmm? Foundation Establishment stage?” He Youzhou was shocked.
After probing Youlan, he found that she had indeed reached the Foundation Establishment stage.
Although she had just broken through, she had only been cultivating for a few days, which was too fast.
Their Tianyan Sect was not allowed to take cultivation pills, so Youlan’s speed was a bit abnormal.
But soon He Youzhou remembered that when she was not a cultivator, she could already withstand attacks from other cultivators.
It was probably when the Bloodthirsty Syndrome was transferred to Youlan’s body that some unknown effects occurred.
Maybe her body was strengthened, or perhaps her talent had qualitatively improved.
“Did you secretly take cultivation pills?” To be safe, He Youzhou asked another question.
“Disciple wouldn’t dare,” Youlan shook her head. She wasn’t rebellious enough to disobey the sect rules.
“That’s good.” He Youzhou breathed a sigh of relief. If Youlan had taken it, he would have had to drive her out.
If that were the case, the sect would lose half of its beautiful girls, which would be a huge loss.
“Was it Wan Rui who made you change your mind?” He Youzhou asked casually.
Youlan pondered for a moment, “Yes, I want him dead, to kill him with my own hands.”
She did not hide her murderous intent at all. Wan Rui was ultimately her greatest hatred.
“So, disciple wants to ask Master, what did you mean when you said he would reap what he sowed?” Youlan asked softly.
“He took the Blood Pill, and soon he will face the malicious punishment of the Heavenly Dao,” He Youzhou said. “At his level, dying under the malice of the Heavenly Dao is inevitable.”
“But the problem is, the trouble he caused will likely harm many innocents.” He squinted his eyes, showing a rare serious expression.
“The malice of the Heavenly Dao…” Youlan had heard He Youzhou talk about it, but she didn’t have a clear concept of it.
What is the Heavenly Dao? What would the malice of the Heavenly Dao be like? These were things no one could explain to her clearly.
“At the lightest, it distorts the world; at the heaviest, gods descend to the mortal realm,” He Youzhou said. “Both are literal meanings.”
Youlan was filled with doubts about He Youzhou’s entire statement, but she still asked the part she was most puzzled about first.
People more or less knew about gods, even Youlan was no exception. She would also worship some gods of wealth.
But she found it hard to associate gods with the malice of the Heavenly Dao. They were completely opposite concepts.
“Gods descending to the mortal realm?” Youlan said. “Is that… really possible?”
But there was no need for He Youzhou to answer her. Youlan had already read the final answer from her master’s and senior sister’s expressions.
Gods really would descend to the mortal realm, and it was definitely not a good thing.
PS: Dama, this is Panda. Have you noticed the updates have been a bit slow lately? It’s because the pandemic is severe here, frequent nucleic acid tests, people are depressed, and I’m addicted to Elden Ring (just kidding), so it’s a bit difficult to write 8k words a day right now. It will return to normal later.