Borrowed Sword

Chapter 58: The Trajectory of Fate

Inside Red Sleeves Beckon, the storyteller waved his hand impatiently.

"Return to the Dao Gate? What's the rush to go back?" he said.

The burly man looked helpless; clearly, Little Martial Uncle hadn’t had enough fun yet.

But it had already been a year since they descended the mountain.

You may not be done enjoying yourself, but I'm the one serving you all this time, and I’m exhausted!

As the Second Elder of the Dao Gate, he felt bitter inside and habitually wanted to gnaw on his fingernails again.

Still, the burly man decided to try persuading him once more.

"Little Martial Uncle, look—Han Shuangjiang and Xu Ziqing have surely ascended the mountain by now. Don’t you want to return and check on them?" he asked.

The Second Elder of the Dao Gate had been following Little Martial Uncle closely. When he had approached Han and Xu in the guise of the storyteller, the burly man had also been present—just standing far away.

As Little Martial Uncle had put it: "You look like some farmer. At times like these, stay far away. If you stand by my side, I won’t look so celestial and refined."

The storyteller waved his hand again at the mention of those two. "What’s there to go back for? I already prepared everything that needed preparing."

"Huh? Is there something I don’t know about?" the burly man asked, curious.

"Not much. I just prepared cultivation methods for each of them," the storyteller replied indifferently.

The burly man mulled this over and said, "Han Shuangjiang has the Body of Profound Yin. During the Qi‑Opening Stage, the Ice Purity Art suits her best."

"But Xu Ziqing…" The burly man trailed off, unable to come up with anything.

False Spirit Embryo—too lacking. He didn’t know the answer to that one.

The Second Elder of the Dao Gate really couldn’t understand why Little Martial Uncle, who descended the mountain following the Dao Ancestor’s admonitions to seek out the savior, would believe that Xu Ziqing was the one.

"Can’t think of anything, can you?" the storyteller chuckled. "I knew you wouldn’t be able to."

Wearing white robes, he continued to admire himself in the mirror, not even glancing at the burly man. His tone was tinged with pride as he said, "I sent Li Chunsong down the mountain to receive him precisely because he, like you, isn’t very sharp."

"He’ll probably also only offer the Ice Purity Art and then find himself in a bind."

"In that case, with his temperament, he’ll definitely let that False Spirit Embryo pick the method himself."

"From his perspective, it makes no real difference what a False Spirit Embryo chooses," the storyteller said with prophetic certainty.

The burly man nodded repeatedly, unbothered even when Little Martial Uncle called both him and Sixth Junior Brother dimwitted. In fact, he agreed wholeheartedly.

The Second Elder of the Dao Gate knew well that he was just a fool.

As for Sixth Junior Brother—always gambling and always losing—if that wasn’t foolish, what was?

The burly man even understood that the reason Little Martial Uncle liked bringing him, the Second Elder, down the mountain was precisely because his dullness highlighted Little Martial Uncle’s brilliance.

So, he asked sincerely, "Little Martial Uncle, then what cultivation method did you leave behind on purpose?"

"Nothing much—just an evil technique called the Sword Refining Art. I acquired it by chance in my early years. It's quite interesting and suits a False Spirit Embryo well."

The storyteller continued, "Xu Ziqing hails from a martial family skilled in swordsmanship. Among all the Qi‑Opening Stage methods, this one has the character for ‘sword’ in it. He’ll surely pick it."

Upon hearing this, the burly man nodded earnestly. "That must be it. Even though you're not at the sect, it’s like you’re still there—everything is under your control."

Little Martial Uncle of the Dao Gate continued fiddling with his dragon-beard-length hair, proudly saying, "Naturally."

But the burly man still had concerns.

"But Little Martial Uncle, you said the Sword Refining Art is an evil technique. Is it really alright to let the savior cultivate it?"

The storyteller set down the mirror and replied, "Though the method is unorthodox, it’s actually quite fascinating. It follows an artifact-refining mindset and blends internal and external cultivation, which helps a False Spirit Embryo better absorb the Qi-Opening Pill. It’ll speed up his progress a little compared to other methods."

"The cost is just a negligible price."

"Besides, that boy was born for that Evil Sword!" His gaze sharpened, as if recalling the sword atop Hidden Spirit Mountain. A glint of solemnity and cold light flickered in his eyes.

"If someone’s going to wield the Evil Sword, what’s the big deal if he cultivates some evil techniques?" The storyteller resumed his casual demeanor.

The burly man reacted immediately upon hearing the words ‘Evil Sword.’ "Little Martial Uncle, be careful what you say. That’s the sword left behind by the Dao Ancestor."

"So what? Don’t you think it’s an Evil Sword?" the storyteller sneered. "An Evil Sword is an Evil Sword!"

"If the Dao Ancestor hadn’t suppressed it back then, who knows what chaos that sword would have unleashed?"

This time, the burly man dared not respond. No matter what, it was still the Dao Ancestor’s sword.

He wasn’t as rebellious as Little Martial Uncle and couldn’t bring himself to speak such blasphemous words.

Still, the fact that he didn’t refute it said something in itself.

After thinking for a moment, the farmer-like middle-aged man finally asked, "Little Martial Uncle, do you really think Xu Ziqing can take that sword from the mountain?"

"I chose him based on the Dao Ancestor’s admonition. Surely, he can," the storyteller replied.

The burly man remained puzzled. "That sword is so proud. Neither you nor the Sword Sovereign could tame it. When that child goes up Hidden Spirit Mountain, he’ll only be at the First Level. How could he possibly tame it?"

The Little Martial Uncle, once again admiring himself in the mirror, set it down and replied nonchalantly, "Don’t go glorifying me or that guy from the Sword Sect. If we couldn’t beat it, we couldn’t beat it. Don’t make excuses about not being able to tame it."

The Second Elder of the Dao Gate lowered his head slightly and dared not respond.

The storyteller continued, "And why do you assume that just because the kid takes the sword, he must have tamed it?"

"Uh…" The burly man was momentarily speechless.

"I said it’s an Evil Sword," the storyteller stated calmly but firmly.

Upon hearing this, the burly man said at once, "Then Little Martial Uncle, all the more reason we should return to the Dao Gate. After all, we still need your guidance on this matter."

"Hmm? You again!" The storyteller frowned. "Xu Ziqing isn’t Han Shuangjiang. He’s just a False Spirit Embryo—his cultivation speed is painfully slow. If I wait for him to reach the First Level and ascend Hidden Spirit Mountain, I’d die of boredom!"

"This matter is settled. We’re not going back anytime soon."

"But can’t we give him the Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill?" The burly man was still confused.

"His current state fits the Dao Ancestor’s admonition perfectly. Giving him anything before he climbs Hidden Spirit Mountain would just be superfluous." The storyteller gave his personal assessment.

After all, he hadn’t had enough fun slaying demons yet on this trip down the mountain!

...

...

Dao Gate, Medicine Mountain, within the secret realm.

Chu Huaixu once again climbed out of the water pool.

"This time I only got less than 400 Experience Points."

"And during the last few minutes, the Experience Points stopped increasing entirely." He sounded disappointed.

By his estimation, the four holes likely held enough Body Tempering Medicine Liquid for at least ten people, if not more.

Back when he and Han Shuangjiang were Mandarin Ducks Playing in the Water, they’d used up the share for two people and gained over two thousand Experience Points.

Earlier tonight, he had gone into the water alone, absorbing one share of the medicine and enduring one share of the Water Blade, but only earned 850 Experience Points. The third time, it dropped to 350...

"This dungeon is now useless to me. I didn’t even gain Experience Points in the last five minutes." Chu Huaixu sighed. The Water Blade and Body Tempering Medicine Liquid no longer benefited his cultivation.

"What a waste," he muttered as he kept staring at the four holes.

The next moment, a thought occurred to Chu Huaixu—his little junior brother at home.

"I almost forgot about Xiao Xu. This stuff would surely work for him too!" Chu Huaixu slapped his bare thigh.

"He’s a False Spirit Embryo. If he continues cultivating at that snail’s pace, who knows how long it’ll take?"

"I just don’t know how effective the third trial would be for him," Chu Huaixu pondered.

After all, everyone had different physiques, medicine had varied effects, and the efficiency of body training would differ too.

"But he hasn’t increased his pain threshold, so this is going to hurt him a lot," he thought, feeling a bit sorry for the kid.

Chu Huaixu put on his robes and left the secret realm.

When he returned to the bamboo hut, he stopped briefly outside Xu Ziqing’s room.

He could faintly hear heavy, labored breathing inside—"huff, huff."

"Must be in serious pain," Chu Huaixu thought.

"Wonder which cycle of circulation he’s at now?" he mused.

After standing a while longer, he returned to his own room.

Having just finished a session of cultivation, Xu Ziqing was once again curled up in pain on his meditation cushion, nearly rolling all over the floor.

To his disappointment, his apertures remained tightly blocked, showing no sign of loosening anytime soon.

"Trash just needs to train more, trash just needs to train more…" He clenched the slip of paper in his hand, treating his senior brother’s words like golden truth.

Once his body gradually adapted and returned to normal, he sat cross-legged on the cushion and looked at the slip again.

Suddenly, he snatched the small booklet from the table and flipped to page three.

Then, he placed the slip of paper on top of the booklet.

The youth lowered his head and began comparing the handwriting between the two.

...