Green Mountain

Old Ears was sprinting through the dense mist, clutching Wu Yun, who was struggling desperately, wanting to leap off the cliff to follow Chen Ji into the water.

But Old Ears held it tightly, running while soothing, "Why the hurry, dear Mao’er? Under the lake, the five swords are all divine weapons accompanied by the Lord of War during his manifestation, treasures with their own spiritual essence. Set loose, any one of them would cause a bloody storm in the Jianghu. How could he not be delighted to take them all at once?"

Wu Yun paid no heed to his words, still struggling, "Let me go, what if he faints after falling from that height?"

Listening to its meows, Old Ears remained calm, saying, "Are you suggesting I deceived him? Tch, the Martial Temple Mountain Gate, if I didn’t trick him, he’d never dare come here in his lifetime. Struggling outside to find swords, who knows which year he might succeed? Just tell me, are there five swords under the lake?"

Seeing no point in arguing with Old Ears, Wu Yun simply bit his hand.

Yet, Old Ears didn’t get angry and continued explaining patiently, "Rest easy, this mountain’s heavy mist won’t disperse anytime soon, no one will see anyone in the lake. Everyone will come after us two anyway, not him. It’s us you should be worried about."

Wu Yun meowed, "Who would care about a cat? They’re after you. Let me down, I’ll run by myself!"

Hearing its meow, Old Ears gently said, "Worried for an old man like me? Hai, no need to worry, I’m experienced in dealing with these Martial Temple folks, nothing will happen."

"If you can’t understand what I’m saying, then stop responding nonsense!" Wu Yun dropped its little head powerlessly, allowing Old Ears to carry it through the misty confusion to God-knows-where.

Shortly after they left the cliff, a long knife whistled through the thick mist, piercing precisely where Old Ears was standing just a moment ago.

In the next instant, Wu Kezhi’s figure slowly emerged from the mist, as "Jishan" rose from the ground, floating back beside him.

Wu Kezhi stood silently at the cliff’s edge; Changbai Mountain Heavenly Pool was shrouded in mist nearly 265 days a year.

He used to feel the mist protected from prying eyes, but now it blocked all vision, leaving him clueless as to the intruders’ whereabouts.

Lost in thought, footsteps sounded behind him.

Wu Kezhi’s ears twitched, and the Jishan Blade flew immediately before him, only to hear Chang Sheng’s voice call from the fog, "It’s me, it’s me!"

Uncle Chang Sheng and Aunt Qiubai burst from the mist, cleavers in hand, glancing around, "Where are they?"

Wu Kezhi shook his head, "Didn’t see, they ran."

A slightly disheveled Uncle Chang Sheng scratched his head, "Weren’t you guarding the back mountain? How could someone sneak in? Were you slacking?"

Aunt Qiubai pinched his ear, "Since when have you seen Xiao Wu slacking off?"

Uncle Chang Sheng twisted his body, grinning in pain, "Ouch, ouch, let go!"

Wu Kezhi also wore a slight confusion on his face, "I’ve been watching the mountain gate, and didn’t notice anyone ascending, nor was the talismanic array on the path disturbed."

Uncle Chang Sheng stroked his stubble, "Even the talismanic array isn’t disturbed. Could a rock have fallen into the lake from the mountain?"

Wu Kezhi confidently replied, "No, it was clearly the sound of a person falling into the lake."

Uncle Chang Sheng pondered, "Could it be Wu Hongbiao jumped into the lake from on high? He’s always at the lake bottom seeking the Soldier Master’s Blade Intent daily. Maybe he failed and went crazy, wanting to end it all..."

He stopped mid-sentence, noticing Wu Kezhi’s and Aunt Qiubai’s gazes and fell silent.

Aunt Qiubai mused, "Who could it be that avoids both Xiao Wu and the mountain talismanic array? Such deliberate intent points to a formidable foe of our Martial Temple."

Uncle Chang Sheng puzzled, "But why would they sneak up the mountain? Our rickety Martial Temple isn’t worth much—is it to steal our hay hut, or perhaps do they covet my... hiss!"

After pinching Uncle Chang Sheng, Aunt Qiubai turned to the lake, "Everyone knows the Heavenly Pool is where the Lord of War manifested, could it be for the Soldier Master’s Blade Intent and the divine weapons beneath the lake?"

Hearing those words, Wu Kezhi instinctively glanced at the Jishan Blade floating beside him, which also came from the lake’s depths.

Uncle Chang Sheng gleefully remarked, "If they want to steal the divine weapons, they’re doomed. Blade Intent and divine weapons choose their masters; we don’t even need to intervene, they’ll end up buried underwater. The Lord of War’s Blade Intent below the lake could slay them all; it’s immensely domineering, not a single big fish can survive past a foot without being cut down. It’s just exceptional that Biao made it, for some reason the Lord of War’s Blade Intent spares him."

After pondering momentarily, Wu Kezhi instructed, "We still can’t be careless. You two awaken everyone, and search the mountain in pairs—ensure the intruder leaves with nothing."

Aunt Qiubai cupped her hands, "Understood."

With that, she pulled Chang Sheng into the fog.

Wu Kezhi stepped to the cliff edge, peering down toward the Heavenly Pool, but it was entirely veiled by the mist.

...

...

Beneath the heavy mist, Chen Ji fell unconscious into the water from a hundred meters up, sinking continually deeper in the dark lake waters. Initially, the water was icy, yet the deeper he sank, the warmer it became.

Beneath the lake, it seemed a vast furnace lay, steaming the entire Changbai Mountain Heavenly Pool. The steam rose, swirling into the persistent mist above.

Chen Ji, eyes closed, plummeted directly to the lakebed, stirring up the settled silt, which shrouded him completely.

When the silt settled down again, Chen Ji was sitting cross-legged in the center, head lowered, with hands placed on his knees, fingers forming a sword gesture.

In the dark waters of the lake, something massive seemed to be swimming, imposing and approaching ever closer. A golden light, more than a zhang long, came forward like a swimming dragon, illuminating the lakebed. It was a majestic blade intent, pure and strong.

The blade intent seemed to be guarding this Heavenly Pool, and upon seeing an intruder, it slashed down towards Chen Ji’s head.

But just as the blade was about to strike Chen Ji, the blade edge suddenly stopped an inch above his head. The golden dragon circled around Chen Ji, moving away and then coming close again several times, as if trying to confirm something.

But it couldn’t confirm, and could only keep circling around Chen Ji, its domineering blade intent sniffing here and there like a dog.

After a long time, five more swords swam over, and it wasn’t just swords, but also armors, spears, halberds, and large crossbows that had been lying hidden at the lake bottom for years, all started circling around Chen Ji.

But Chen Ji kept his eyes tightly shut, completely unaware.

In his mind, scene after scene flashed by: the peach blossoms of Guixu, the snow on East Kunlun, the sea outside Penglai, the moon in the sky, and the oaths in the Heavenly Son Capital.

More scenes flashed by: Anxi Street in Luocheng City, the humble Taiping Medical Hall, the broken remnants of Guyuan, and the red cloth strips floating into the halls, a chestnut horse crossing crowds and snow, with a girl in red riding on its back.

Past and present lives intertwined constantly, endlessly emerging and perishing.

These scenes suddenly rewound quickly, finally stopping at the moment of birth at the lake bottom, where there was still erupting fire and magma...

In an instant, a warm current rolled at the lake bottom, as 720 stoves inside Chen Ji’s body suddenly lit up, first the stove on the Du Meridian, then the stove on the Ren Meridian, one fire passing to another, until all the stoves were aflame.

The light from the 720 stoves shone through his body, illuminating the dark lake bottom as if it were daylight, brightening an area of several zhang in diameter.

The Lord of War’s Blade Intent and Divine Weapons at the lake bottom all came to a halt, then burst into joyous celebration.

A vague sound came from the lake bottom.

Fight bravely...

Victory to the realms...

Chen Ji suddenly opened his eyes, the settled silt around him spread outwards, and the firelight illuminated the words carved at the lake bottom before him.

Heaven and earth are born with me, all things are one with me.

The words were bold and flowing, as if someone had awakened from the lake bottom ten thousand years ago and carved them there with blade intent. The golden blade intent flowed over the carved words, then left the words and came before Chen Ji, as if to say, it is I.

Looking at the blade intent and weapons before him, Chen Ji smiled, his lips moving silently: Long time no see.

He reached out his hand, and the weapons all crowded near; a crystal sword, transparent and clear, reached his palm first, then transformed into a ball of light entering the meridians in his palm, flowing through them to merge with the patterns on his waist, transforming into a sword seed.

In the next moment, a sword intent shot up to the sky, breaking through the waters and mist, spiraling upwards!

...

...

Uncle Changsheng and Aunt Qiubai wandered idly along the ridge, searching nearby and whispering complaints: "Who doesn’t have eyes to dare force their way into the Martial Temple Mountain Gate, what is there to steal from this broken Martial Temple... the Mountain Master must be enjoying himself somewhere, promised to take me down the mountain last time, but went back on his word, I shouldn’t have believed his nonsense."

Aunt Qiubai gave him a glare: "The Mountain Master went to do serious tasks, to find the heir of the Sword Seed Path."

Uncle Changsheng sneered: "You believe him? Better to believe I am the reincarnation of Emperor Yao."

Aunt Qiubai pondered for a moment: "The timeline doesn’t match."

Uncle Changsheng replied helplessly: "I was just joking."

At this moment, faint footsteps were heard from ahead, both of them paused, and so did the footsteps opposite.

Uncle Changsheng immediately stepped back, only to be grabbed tightly by Aunt Qiubai: "Why run? Useless, your name is a disgrace!"

Uncle Changsheng stiffened his neck: "Anyone who dares to barge into my Martial Temple Mountain Gate must be well-prepared, I need to go back and get reinforcements. And don’t bring my name into this, I’m called Changsheng, as long as I don’t mess with those stronger than me, I can keep winning, much more reliable than your damn Qiubai, Qiubai, Qiubai, even your name sounds short-lived..."

Aunt Qiubai twisted Uncle Changsheng’s ear and walked towards the sound of footsteps: "You really are in need of a good spanking..."

Before she finished speaking, the sound of a sword being drawn echoed from the sky above the thick fog, even causing the still fog to start moving slowly.

Uncle Changsheng and Aunt Qiubai exchanged a glance instinctively: "Martial Arts Roar?"

Uncle Changsheng yelled in a strange tone: "Not good, someone used the lake bottom’s divine weapon for sword cultivation! The Mountain Master went out to find someone, but instead of finding them, they snuck over and stole from us!"

...

There’s another update tonight but very late, check it tomorrow morning.