novelraw Chapter 299 : Female State Preceptor
Chapter 299 : Female State Preceptor
Chapter 299: Female State Preceptor
Chu Huaixu sat on the meditation cushion. Only after his aura had stabilized did he slowly rise to his feet.
From outside the room came Chu Yinyin’s voice.
“Chu Huaixu, I’m coming in!”
She seemed to have been waiting outside all along—perhaps standing guard for him.
“Second Master, please come in.”
As a result, when the door opened, behind the round-faced loli stood the voluptuous mature beauty Nangong Yue, as well as the plain-looking Jiang Zhi.
As soon as Chu Yinyin entered, she circled around Chu Huaixu.
Her large, blinking eyes were filled with curiosity.
“Tsk tsk tsk, every time you break through, even your master’s 【Parting Joy】 reacts.”
“I’m starting to suspect it’s going to run away with you.”
They all felt that Chu Huaixu’s path of swordsmanship was rather strange—somewhat… inexplicable?
Clearly a Swordless One, yet he seemed capable of enticing every sword between heaven and earth.
Even swords with owners were no exception.
What kind of domineering sword cultivator’s forced love was this?
And he was even walking a morally questionable path…
At this moment, Chu Huaixu instead became modest and said, “It only happens during breakthroughs. Normally, how could I forcibly command Second Master’s sword?”
Though he said so, his gaze glanced at 【Parting Joy】, already envisioning smooth combo techniques in his mind when using it.
According to his own speculation, the terrifying phenomenon of Myriad Swords Return to One he achieved earlier in the Dao Ancestor Secret Realm had been due to the Dao Ancestor’s assistance.
Now, the swords he could “activate” relied entirely on himself.
Therefore, Chu Huaixu estimated that these swords were all… borrowable!
“Second Master’s 【Parting Joy】 should be no exception.”
It was just that the swords of these Major Cultivators—even if borrowed—might not match him as well as Big Ice Block’s 【Zhegutian】.
To put it simply, Chu Huaixu right now was somewhat like a succubus among swords.
When these powerful swords were bewitched by him, their sword spirits still experienced internal conflict and struggle.
In his hand, they would feel extremely excited, yet from time to time, they would still remember their true master…
In certain scenarios, this might even become a kind of “flavor,” perhaps increasing attack speed and critical strikes.
But in battle, that would be a flaw—a weakness!
At this moment, Jiang Zhi glanced at Chu Huaixu and asked, “After the breakthrough, what do you feel?”
Chu Huaixu thought for a moment and did not hide anything.
“There’s nothing particularly special, but, Grandmaster, I seem to have sensed a very special sword.”
“Oh? Tell me.” Jiang Zhi’s curiosity was piqued.
The round-faced loli beside them perked up her ears.
As for Nangong Yue, after entering the room, she had been somewhat distracted. This artifact-refining grandmaster only stared at Chu Huaixu, completely immersed, feeling he was truly a peerless sword, to the point that she became absent-minded.
“Grandmaster, Masters—within the Imperial Capital’s City-Protecting Grand Formation, is the formation core a sword?” Chu Huaixu asked.
This question caused the three high-ranking members of the Dao Gate to be stunned simultaneously.
After exchanging glances, Chu Yinyin, who could never hide her thoughts, said, “Huh? The formation core of the Imperial Capital’s grand formation is a sword?”
Chu Huaixu immediately understood: “So they don’t know either!”
This made him realize that he might have just uncovered a major secret of the Moon Country’s royal family.
With her gentle temperament, Nangong Yue spoke, “Earlier, Senior Brother mentioned that the Imperial Capital’s City-Protecting Grand Formation of the Moon Country is the strongest formation under heaven.”
“So powerful?” Chu Huaixu was shocked.
Nangong Yue nodded and added, “But Senior Brother also said that this is because the Imperial Capital is the foundation of the nation’s fate. This grand formation integrates the fate of the nation into itself, which is why it possesses such power.”
“Judging purely from the formation itself, the Imperial Capital’s formation is actually inferior to our Dao Gate’s Mountain-Protecting Formation, after all, that one was personally set up by the Dao Ancestor.”
At this point, Jiang Zhi frowned slightly and began to ponder.
Seeing his thoughtful expression, Chu Huaixu couldn’t help but complain inwardly: “Grandmaster, please don’t think. When you start thinking, the whole world gets scared.”
This little martial uncle of the Dao Gate was the strongest killing machine when he didn’t think. Once he began strategizing, he tended to make a mess of things.
But this time, it was unexpectedly insightful.
“Since Lu Pan said that the strength of the Imperial Capital’s formation lies in the blessing of the nation’s fate, and since you sensed that the formation core is a sword, then it is very likely that a large portion of the Moon Country’s national fate is condensed within that sword!”
“That reminds me—the Founding Emperor of the Moon Country cultivated both spear and sword. In his era, his strength even surpassed that generation’s Sword Sovereign.”
“His personal sword was called the Nation-Suppressing Sword by the people of the Moon Country.”
“But for some reason, that sword was never passed down and has not appeared for hundreds of years.”
Hearing this, Chu Huaixu was momentarily stunned.
Because he had previously speculated that any sword he could sense… was a sword he could borrow!
After chatting a bit more, the three high-ranking members of the Dao Gate left his room.
They were all quite emotional inside.
“How long has it been since he condensed his Sword Heart?”
“If the previous condensation relied on the Dao Ancestor Secret Realm, then this Minor Mastery of Sword Heart relies entirely on himself.”
Even Jiang Zhi now felt that having such a disciple-grandson was truly delightful!
The old man had directly gone full “smells amazing.”
After his elders left, Chu Huaixu glanced at his Character Panel.
“Only a little over three hundred thousand Experience Points left again.”
With a thought, he waved his hand and took out the blood-colored crystal necklace from his Storage Token.
“There are still three days before the Eastern and Western Continents’ Grand Competition. During this time, I’ll continue being a sparring partner for Big Ice Block and Little Xu. Once they compete, I’ll have nothing to do—so I’ll head to the Imperial Pool.” Chu Huaixu thought.
Given how easy the earlier rounds were, he couldn’t even be bothered to watch.
Fortunately, as the Xuanhuang Champion, he had special privileges.
Otherwise, he would probably have had to use the 《Jiligulu Bagua Palm》 again in the early rounds and crush opponents with Eight Wastelands Wandering Dragon.
The eastern sky turned pale as dawn gradually broke.
Within the Imperial Capital of the Moon Country stood a massive stone structure.
It was entirely built from black stones, and from afar, it looked somewhat like… a giant coffin.
And this place was the famous Imperial Pool of the Moon Country.
The Imperial Pool was located within this enormous stone structure.
Players of 《Borrowed Sword》 in the Moon Country affectionately called it: the coffin bathhouse.
The reason for this nickname was that the Imperial Pool was not a single pool.
It was indeed like a large bathhouse, with multiple pools inside, each steaming with heat.
To be precise, there were ten pools in total within the Imperial Pool.
The first nine pools were used for tempering and could enhance cultivation.
Those who entered had to soak in them one by one in sequence.
If the order was wrong, then the absorption of energy would also be wrong, making it easy to fall into Qi Deviation.
As for the most precious Emperor-level Divine Sense, it resided in the tenth pool.
It was said that when the Founding Emperor of the Moon Country passed away, he divided his divine soul into ten strands of divine sense and infused them into the Imperial Pool to protect the nation.
Every generation of emperor had to come to the Imperial Pool before ascending the throne and soak in the tenth pool.
Only then would they obtain one strand of Emperor-level Divine Sense, symbolizing recognition from the royal ancestor, and only then could they ascend the throne.
In other words, of the ten strands of divine sense, the reigning emperor carried one.
At present, the Heir of Prince Rui was extraordinarily talented. It seemed he had been recognized by the Founding Emperor—he had been granted entry into the Imperial Pool twice and had absorbed a total of four strands of Emperor-level Divine Sense!
Coupled with his resemblance to the Portrait of the Emperor, some superstitious citizens of the Moon Country had already begun calling him the reincarnation of the Founding Emperor.
Aside from these two, there was one more person in the entire Moon Country who possessed Emperor-level Divine Sense.
That was the successor of the Old State Preceptor Ming Xuanji—the current Female State Preceptor.
At this moment, the stone door of this “coffin bathhouse” was slowly pushed open.
A barefoot woman, floating about three inches above the ground, drifted in from outside.
The night pearls embedded around the area cast a dim glow.
Her bare feet were like warm jade delicately carved, her ankles exquisite, radiating a soft luster under the hazy light.
Beneath her skin, faint bluish veins appeared and disappeared, like mist sealed within fine porcelain glaze. Her ten toes were round and neat, the nails glowing with a healthy pale pink, like a cluster of newly blooming crabapple petals.
She moved forward, her steps light and silent like a cat’s. When her toes touched the ground, the graceful arch would tighten, then relax—each rise and fall like a silent melody, as if lotus flowers bloomed with every step.
She soon arrived before the first pool.
The woman did not detour but continued forward.
She walked across the water’s surface. With each step, ripples spread outward.
The water gently kissed her snow-white ankles, her skin appearing dazzlingly pale against the clear pool water.
However, as she moved forward, passing one pool after another, the color of the water gradually deepened.
If the first pool was crystal clear, then by the fifth pool, it had already taken on a rich blood-red hue.
Each pool ahead grew darker.
By the tenth pool, the liquid even appeared somewhat viscous.
As though the entire pool was truly filled with blood.
Her smooth jade feet stepped upon the surface, the stark contrast between her pale skin and the blood-red water especially striking.
She paused briefly above the blood pool that contained the Emperor-level Divine Sense, lowering her gaze.
Within the pool, four streams of energy swirled like four swimming dragons.
After a glance, she continued forward.
The woman walked past all ten pools and arrived at a meditation cushion placed on a bed at the end. She sat down and slowly closed her eyes.
However, before sitting, she removed the luxurious outer robe symbolizing her status as State Preceptor, and even took off her inner garment.
At this point, the Female State Preceptor’s upper body was left with only a dudou that covered her chest and abdomen.