Chapter 732 - 727: The Mystery of the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal
While Lü Yang and Ang Xiao were each nursing their own secret plots, Demon Subduing Zhenren received a summons and rode his Flying Light to Zenith Cliff in the Sword Pavilion.
As a vital location in the Sword Pavilion, Zenith Cliff was rather unique.
At first glance, it was just a cliff on the highest peak of the Sword Pavilion, overlooking the South. In reality, however, the space here was distorted.
Every Perfected Lord of the Sword Pavilion had their own personal Zenith Cliff.
For example, when Demon-Vanquishing Perfected came to Zenith Cliff, he would see True Monarch Chengtian Zhengde, because they were both from the Ye Family and shared karmic links.
Demon Subduing Zhenren, however, was different.
At this moment, as he arrived on Zenith Cliff, what greeted him was the sight of a refined, scholarly middle-aged man pressing on his sword with one hand while stroking a zither with the other. The music from the zither was clear and pleasant.
It was none other than True Monarch Gangxing!
Demon Subduing Zhenren didn't dare to speak. He stood obediently at the cliff's edge, waiting in silence. A long time passed before the melodious zither music gradually faded.
Only then did True Monarch Gangxing turn to look at him.
"You're here?"
Before his voice had even faded, Demon Subduing Zhenren stepped forward without hesitation and bowed, his voice resounding, "Demon Subduing greets the Perfected Lord. May the Perfected Lord's immortal life be boundless, your Dao equal to the Heavens!"
"No need for formalities. Rise."
True Monarch Gangxing smiled and raised a hand slightly, continuing, "How goes it? Do you have a chance of succeeding in Seeking the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal?"
Demon Subduing Zhenren's expression grew troubled upon hearing this. He then said cautiously, "Reporting to the Perfected Lord, this disciple has already achieved Divine Power Perfection. I am only one final step away."
True Monarch Gangxing's smile didn't waver. "So, that means you have no chance of success?"
"Perfected Lord... your insight is keen."
"Tell me about it." True Monarch Gangxing wasn't angered by this. He just sighed and said, "What step are you missing? I'll take a look for you."
Demon Subduing Zhenren was overjoyed to hear this.
"Thank you, Perfected Lord! The main issue lies in... the Magic Instrument for Seeking Gold!"
The Magic Instrument for Seeking the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal is quite unique. It doesn't seek in the past or the present, but in the future. It demands that the Gold-Seeking Cultivator use their Innate Ability to sense the future and slash away all timelines in which 'Seeking Gold' fails. Once that is done, the Magic Instrument is perfected, and Seeking Gold will naturally succeed.
But therein lies the problem.
"Perfected Lord, as you can see, this disciple has managed to slash away almost all failed futures. There is only one last future I have yet to slash, but I haven't dared to make a move."
True Monarch Gangxing's brow furrowed at his words. "Why?"
"Because... the last future is also a failure! If I slash it, this disciple will have no future where I can seek Gold. I truly dare not take such a risk."
"The last one is also a failure?"
True Monarch Gangxing's brow furrowed even deeper. He seemed to fall into deep thought. After a long while, he looked up and said quietly, "Begin Seeking Gold now."
"Eh?" Demon Subduing Zhenren was taken aback.
"There's no need to slash the future. Use that one failed future to seek Gold."
Demon Subduing Zhenren was even more baffled by this statement. However, he reacted quickly. Instead of asking for an explanation, he immediately began his Flying Ascension Blessed Land without another word.
He trusted True Monarch Gangxing.
'The Perfected Lord wouldn't harm me. He's invested too much in me!'
In an instant, boundless golden light erupted from Demon Subduing Zhenren's body. Within it, a vision of the future was projected, overlapping with his figure.
Next, everything unfolded just as it had in the vision.
Demon Subduing Zhenren initiated the Flying Ascension Blessed Land, the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal was sensed and drawn out, but then he inexplicably failed and perished. Demon Subduing Zhenren's body began to disintegrate—
BOOM!
The next second, the entire scene shattered like glazed glass and crumbled to dust. Demon Subduing Zhenren came to his senses and found himself standing perfectly unharmed on Zenith Cliff.
And there, on the lap of True Monarch Gangxing before him, rested an unsheathed Enchanted Sword shimmering with iridescent light. A tidal wave of Sword Qi flowed over the blade like water, each and every strand distinct and visible. When Demon Subduing Zhenren gazed at it, he felt as if he were seeing an endless number of future visions.
"Is this... the Eternal Sword?"
As part of the Sword Pavilion's Direct Lineage, Demon Subduing Zhenren had naturally heard of this Supreme Treasure that protected the sect. Without a second thought, he once again performed a grand salute and kowtowed solemnly.
"Thank you, Perfected Lord, for saving my life!"
True Monarch Gangxing shook his head. "The Eternal Sword may be immensely powerful, but you are too weak. Therefore, it can only be used on you once."
"If it were used a second time, your very soul would be scattered to the winds."
Speaking of this, True Monarch Gangxing's tone filled with emotion. "This sword was bestowed by our Ancestor before he ascended to the Other Shore. It is the pinnacle of the Ancestor's lifetime of Swordsmanship."
"It contains a total of one thousand two hundred Dharma Rings, all of which have long been refined to perfection. It is the supreme Swordsmanship needed to achieve the 'Miao Dao Celestial Immortal Thousand Two Hundred Grand Rites'. Unfortunately, the cultivators of your generation no longer know of this... Back then, if not for this sword, I might not have been able to attain the Great True Monarch Position of the Late Stage of Golden Core."
"As for you..."
True Monarch Gangxing paused for a moment, then continued, "I have a lead. Your problem does not lie with yourself, but with an external factor."
"An external factor?" Demon Subduing Zhenren looked puzzled.
"Correct. To be specific, the problem is with the Sword Dao."
True Monarch Gangxing sighed. "Back then, when the Ancestor wished to pioneer the Sword Dao, he used his Great Magical Power and the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal to intercept a sliver of the future."
"That is, the future where 'the Sword Dao will definitely be proven'."
"For many years, the profound mysteries of the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal have been used to anchor this future. It cannot extricate itself. It's like a sword stuck in its scabbard, unable to display its divine power."
"Under these circumstances, unless the Sword Dao is truly proven and the future is officially set, the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal will remain 'in its scabbard.' This is because it must continue to maintain 'the future where the Sword Dao will definitely be proven'. Only when the Sword Dao comes into being can the Fruit of Blade-Edge Metal be freed."
Demon Subduing Zhenren understood.
"So, the Perfected Lord means... if I want to achieve the Seeking Gold Ascension Position, I must first wait for Senior Brother Demon-Vanquishing to achieve the Void Certificate for the Sword Dao? Only when he succeeds will I have a chance at Seeking Gold?"
"And as long as Senior Brother Demon-Vanquishing doesn't die, he won't sacrifice himself for the Void Certificate."
"So even if this disciple achieves Divine Power Perfection, or even advances further to the Peak of Foundation Establishment, I still won't be able to seek Gold? I won't be able to attain the True Monarch Position?"
As he said this, Demon Subduing Zhenren's expression visibly twisted.
However, True Monarch Gangxing seemed completely unconcerned, nodding calmly. "Correct."
Immediately after, he waved a hand. "Alright, you may leave. Since your opportunity has not yet arrived, it would be good for you to settle and cultivate further. Do not slack in your practice."
"Don't worry, I will make arrangements regarding Demon-Vanquishing Perfected."
"...This disciple accepts your command."
Demon Subduing Zhenren left, filled with a hundred sorrows. After all, no one would want their path to Seeking Gold to be inexplicably blocked by an outsider.
However, his Heart Spirit was so consumed by this that he failed to notice.
Just as he was leaving Zenith Cliff, on his way back to his Cave Mansion to enter seclusion, a stream of light silently departed from his Spiritual Space, disappearing over the horizon in the blink of an eye.